G protein-coupled receptor dimers: functional consequences, disease states and drug targets

Pharmacol Ther. 2008 Jun;118(3):359-71. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2008.03.004. Epub 2008 Apr 8.

Abstract

With an ever-expanding need for reliable therapeutic agents that are highly effective and exhibit minimal deleterious side effects, a greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) regulation is fundamental. GPCRs comprise more than 30% of all therapeutic drug targets and it is likely that this will only increase as more orphan GPCRs are identified. The past decade has seen a dramatic shift in the prevailing concept of how GPCRs function, in particular the growing acceptance that GPCRs are capable of interacting with one another at a molecular level to form complexes, with significantly different pharmacological properties to their monomeric selves. While the ability of like-receptors to associate and form homodimers raises some interesting mechanistic issues, the possibility that unlike-receptors could heterodimerise in certain tissue types, producing a functionally unique signalling complex that binds specific ligands, provides an invaluable opportunity to refine and redefine pharmacological interventions with greater specificity and efficacy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Allosteric Regulation
  • Animals
  • Dimerization
  • Drug Delivery Systems*
  • Drug Design
  • Humans
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / drug effects
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / metabolism*

Substances

  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled