Abstract
G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are key cell-surface proteins that transduce external environmental cues into biochemical signals across the membrane. GPCRs are intrinsically allosteric proteins; they interact via spatially distinct yet conformationally linked domains with both endogenous and exogenous proteins, nutrients, metabolites, hormones, small molecules and biological agents. Here we explore recent high-resolution structural studies, which are beginning to unravel the atomic details of allosteric transitions that govern GPCR biology, as well as highlighting how the wide diversity of druggable allosteric sites across these receptors present opportunities for developing new classes of therapeutics.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to J. Tesmer for assistance with preparation of Supplementary Table 1. This work was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) (Program Grant number APP1055134). D.M.T. and A.G. are Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award Fellows, P.M.S. is a NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and A.C. is a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow.
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Thal, D.M., Glukhova, A., Sexton, P.M. et al. Structural insights into G-protein-coupled receptor allostery. Nature 559, 45–53 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0259-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0259-z
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