title: Arrestins: role in the desensitization, sequestration, and vesicular trafficking of G protein-coupled receptors.
abstract: Over the years, β-arrestins have emerged as multifunctional molecular scaffolding proteins regulating almost every imaginable G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) function. Originally discovered as GPCR-desensitizing molecules, they have been shown to also serve as important regulators of GPCR signaling, sequestration, and vesicular trafficking. This broad functional role implicates β-arrestins as key regulatory proteins for cellular function. Hence, this chapter summarizes the current understanding of the β-arrestin family's unique ability to control the kinetics as well as the extent of GPCR activity at the level of desensitization, sequestration, and subsequent intracellular trafficking.
authors.affiliation: J. Allyn Taylor Centre for Cell Biology, Robarts Research Institute, Western University Canada, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.forename: Stephen S G
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ferguson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019390:Arrestins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004705:Endocytosis; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D021381:Protein Transport; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism*; D022161:Transport Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019390:Arrestins; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled