Transmembrane receptor General function

Fig. 5.5. General functions of transmembrane receptors. Extracellular signals convert the transmembrane receptor from the inactive form R to the active form R. The activated receptor transmits the signal to effector proteins next in the reaction sequence. Important effector reactions are the activation of heterotrimeric G-proteins, of protein tyrosine kinases and of protein tyrosine phosphatases. The tyrosine kinases and tyrosine phosphatases may be an intrinsic part of the receptor or they may be associated with the receptor. The activated receptor may also include adaptor proteins in the signaling pathway or it may induce opening of ion channels.

FIGURE 2.1 A side view of the structure of the prototype G-protein-coupled, 7TM receptor rhodopsin. The x-ray structure of bovine rhodopsin is shown with horizontal gray lines, indicating the limits of the cellular lipid membrane. The retinal ligand is shown in a space-filling model as the cloud in the middle of the structure. The seven transmembrane (7TM) helices are shown in solid ribbon form. Note that TM-III is rather tilted (see TM-III at the extracellular and intracellular end of the helix) and that kinks are present in several of the other helices, such as TM-V (to the left), TM-VI (in front of the retinal), and TM-VII. In all of these cases, these kinks are due to the presence of a well-conserved proline residue, which creates a weak point in the helical structure. These kinks are believed to be of functional importance in the activation mechanism for 7TM receptors in general. Also note the amphipathic helix-VIII which is located parallel to the membrane at the membrane interface. 

In another recent example, Hashimoto reported photoaffinity experiments on retinoic acid receptors (RAR). Retinoic acid plays a critical role in cell proliferation and differentiation. RARs belong to the superfamily of nuclear/ thyroid hormone receptors. They consist of six transmembrane domains (A-F) which is a general feature of these receptors. The A/B domains have an autonomous transactivation function while the C-domain contains the Zn-finger, which binds to DNA. The large E-domain participates in ligand binding, dimerization, and ligand dependent transactivation. Finally, D- and F-domains help the orientation and stabilization of the E-domain. 

The mechanism by which the activated receptor talks to the G-protein is only partially understood. Generally, the switch function of the receptor is considered in terms of allosteric conformational changes of the 7-hehx membrane bimdle (review Bourne, 1997). According to this representation, changes in the structure of the transmembrane bimdle are passed on to the cytoplasmic loops of the receptor. Communication with the a-subunit of the heterotrimeric G-protein takes place via these loops. 

---