Elucidation of the gating of the GIRK channel using a spectroscopic approach.
The traditional view of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-mediated signalling puts the players in this signalling cascade, namely the GPCR, the G protein and its effector, as individual components in space, where the signalling specificity is obtained mainly by the interaction of the GPCR and the Galpha subunits of the G protein. A question is then raised as to how fidelity in receptor signalling is achieved, given that many systems use the same components of the G protein signalling machinery. One possible mechanism for obtaining the specific flow of the downstream signals, from the activated G protein to its specific effector target, in a timely manner, is compartmentalization, a spatial arrangement of the complex in a rather restricted space. Here we review our recent findings related to these issues, using the G protein-coupled potassium channel (GIRK) as a model effector and fluorescence-based approaches to reveal how the signalling complex is arranged and how the G protein exerts its action to activate the GIRK channel in intact cells.
Raveh
Adi
A
Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Riven
Inbal
I
Reuveny
Eitan
E
D000818:Animals; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D051676:G Protein-Coupled Inwardly-Rectifying Potassium Channels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000502:physiology*
D051676:G Protein-Coupled Inwardly-Rectifying Potassium Channels