Adhesion G-protein-coupled receptors: elusive hybrids come of age.
Adhesion G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the most recently identified and least understood subfamily of GPCRs. Adhesion GPCRs are characterized by unusually long ectodomains with adhesion-related repeats that facilitate cell- cell and cell-cell matrix contact, as well as a proteolytic cleavage site-containing domain that is a structural hallmark of the family. Their unusual chimeric structure of adhesion-related ectodomain with a seven-pass transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic signaling makes these proteins highly versatile in mediating cellular signaling in response to extracellular adhesion or cell motility events. The ligand binding and cytoplasmic signaling modes for members of this family are beginning to be elucidated, and recent studies have demonstrated critical roles for Adhesion GPCRs in planar polarity and other important cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions during development and morphogenesis, as well as heritable diseases and cancer.
Department of Cell Biology and the Ronald O Perelman Department of Dermatology, New York University School of Medicine , New York, NY , USA.
Julia
J
Simundza
Pamela
P
Cowin
D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D016764:Cell Polarity; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016023:Integrins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
D016023:Integrins; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled