Naturally Occurring Receptors

Erdmann, J., Shimron-Abarbanell, D., Rietschel, M. etal. (1996). Systematic screening for mutations in the human serotonin-2A (5-HT2a) receptor gene identification of two naturally occurring receptor variants and association analysis in schizophrenia. Hum. Genet., 97, 614-19. 

It is possible to attach photochromic molecules onto naturally occurring receptors and enzymes and by so doing be able to photoregulate their binding and catalytic activities. These materials have the potential to be used as chemotherapeutic agents and biosensors, and as bioelectronic materials. In most of this work to date spiropyrans have been used as the photochromic element in the system. 

Biological anion binding proteins and naturally occurring receptors such as the prodigiosins provide much of the inspiration for anion receptor chemistry. 

In several systems, natural antagonistic ligands have been identified that bind on the extracellular side to the receptor and inhibit receptor activation. Furthermore, certain tissues express naturally occurring receptor variants that are deficient in tyrosine kinase activity. Expression of these mutants may lead to dominant negative inhibition of full-length receptors through formation of inactive hetero-dimers or hetero-oligomers. 

The ability to detect molecnle-receptor binding events is a critical aspect for chemical detection methods based on molecular recognition. Currently, fluorescence is a primary means by which these events are detected. (4-6) However, this often requires modification of the receptor to incorporate the fluorescent center and/or immobilization of the receptor molecule onto a surface. Far more desirable would be a means to directly detect the molecule-receptor interaction in solution without the need to modify the naturally occurring receptor. In the absence of any receptor modification, however, there are no signatures stemming from the molecule-receptor interaction that are... 

It is clear that the balance between cytokines and their naturally occurring antagonists influences the net biologic activity of cytokines in vivo (78). TTie chemokines do not have naturally occurring receptor antagonists, and the seven-transmembrane chemokine receptors do not circulate. However, naturally occurring antibodies to IL-8 have been found in the semm of normal volunteers (79,80), and a number of different cytokines and chemokines bind to o -macroglobulin, which can modulate activity. 

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