What are GPCRs?
7 transmembrane receptor proteins that signal via activation of heterotrimeric GTPases– GPCRs can interact with different GTPases
how do GPCR’s work?
ligand binding causes a conformational change, activating intracellular G protein, which binds GTP and hydrolyzes it to GDP and Pi
three major families of heterotrimeric G proteins
G alpha s
G alpha i
G alpha q
How do GPCRs help with signal amplification?
benefit of signal amplification
allows for high sensitivity in translating messages received by the cell