Functional Selectivity Of G Protein Coupled Receptor Ligands

Functional selectivity refers to the ability of different ligands acting at one receptor subtype to activate multiple signaling pathways in unique combinations; that is, one drug can be an agonist at pathway A and an antagonist or partial agonist at pathway B, and another drug can have the reverse profile. Functional selectivity has profound implications for drug development, for chemical biology, and for the design of experiments to characterize receptor function. In Functional Selectivity of G Protein-Coupled Receptors expert neuroscientists and pharmacologists review the work that demonstrated the existence of functional selectivity, placed it within a theoretical framework, and provided a mechanistic basis for the phenomenon. This exciting, comprehensive, and future-oriented volume includes chapters that focus on theoretical and mechanistic aspects of functional selectivity and that cut across subfamilies of GPCRs. Additional chapters focus on subfamilies of therapeutically relevant receptors where there is considerable evidence of ligand functional selectivity. Accessible and authoritative, Functional Selectivity of G Protein-Coupled Receptors is a valuable educational tool and reference source for students and scientists interested in drug development, chemical biology, and GPCR function.

This book provides a broad base of knowledge of G-protein-coupled receptors. Useful at both the university and industrial levels, this book is of particular interest to those who are developing therapeutic approaches to diseases using drugs that influence receptor activation.

G protein coupled receptors remain the most important class of therapeutic targets in medicine. In the last 5 years, tremendous advances have been made in our understanding of the structure and mechanism of this critical family of drug targets. The present volume explores the modern experimental and conceptual framework for drug discovery for G protein coupled receptors. It explores advances in structure determination and structure-based drug design as well as new concepts of allosteric modulation, functional selectivity/biased agonism, and pharmacological chaperones. In addition, emerging drug targets such as receptor families for fatty acids, carboxylic acids, lipid mediators, etc. are included. Final chapters cover novel mechanisms of signal regulation through PDZ domains and RGS proteins. This volume will bring an up-to-date perspective on the G protein coupled receptor field to both academic and industry scientists. The present volume explores the modern experimental and conceptual framework for drug discovery for G protein coupled receptors It explores advances in structure determination and structure-based drug design as well as new concepts of allosteric modulation, functional selectivity/biased agonism, and pharmacological chaperones This volume will bring an up-to-date perspective on the G protein coupled receptor field to both academic and industry scientists

A comprehensive survey of the many recent advances in the field of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). The authors describe the current knowledge of GPCR receptor structure and function, the different mechanisms involved in the regulation of GPCR function, and the role of pharmacological chaperones in GPCR folding and maturation. They also present new findings about how GPCR dimerization/oligomerization modifies the properties of individual receptors and show how recent developments are leading to significant advances in drug discovery, such as the detection of ligands for orphan GPCRs. Also discussed are the most recent developments that could lead to new drug discoveries: the role of GPCRs in mediating pain, the development of receptor-type selective drugs based on the structural plasticity of receptor activation, and the identification of natural ligands of orphan GPCRs (deorphanization) as possible drug targets.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of cell-surface receptors, with more than 800 members identified thus far in the human genome. They regulate the function of most cells in the body, and represent approximately 3% of the genes in the human genome. These receptors respond to a wide variety of structurally diverse ligands, ranging from small molecules, such as biogenic amines, nucleotides and ions, to lipids, peptides, proteins, and even light. Ligands (agonists and antagonists) acting on GPCRs are important in the treatment of numerous diseases, including cardiovascular and mental disorders, retinal degeneration, cancer, and AIDS. It is estimated that these receptors represent about one third of the actual identified targets of clinically used drugs. The determination of rhodopsin crystal structure and, more recently, of opsin, 1 and 2 adrenergic and A2A adenosine receptors provides both academia and industry with extremely valuable data for a better understanding of the molecular determinants of receptor function and a more reliable rationale for drug design. GPCR structure and function constitutes a hot topic. The book, which lies between the fields of chemical biology, molecular pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, is divided into three parts. The first part considers what receptor structures tell us about the mechanism of receptor activation. Part II focuses on receptor function. It discusses what the data from biophysical and mutational studies, and the analysis of the interactions of the receptor with ligands and regulator proteins, tell us about the process of signal transduction. The final part, on modelling and simulation, details new insights on the link between structure and mechanism and their implications in drug design.

1. G protein-coupled receptors in the human genome -- 2. Why G protein-coupled receptors databases are needed -- 3. A novel drug screening assay for G protein-coupled receptors -- 4. Importance of GPCR dimerization for function : the case of the class C GPCRs -- 5. Molecular mechanisms of GPCR activation -- 6. Allosteric properties and regulation of G protein-coupled receptors -- 7. Chemogenomics approaches to ligand design -- 8. Strategies for the design of pGPCR-targeted libraries -- 9. Ligand-based rational design : virtual screening -- 10. 3-D structure of G protein-coupled receptors --11. 7TM models in structure-based drug design -- 12. Receptor-based rational design : virtual screening.

This book summarizes the progress made to functional immobilize G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) through site-specific or orientated recognition in both non-covalent and covalent manners. The last decade is the dawn of the “post-structural biology” era for G protein-coupled receptor research. As an emerging approach for state-of-the-art immobilization, this book discusses efforts to explore the elegance of naturally-occurring biochemical reactions by using their high specificity and robust reactivity in the complex system, such as site-specific conjugation by covalent recognition between enzymes and their substrates. With the perspective of protein-drug interactions, this book also reviews the applications of protein immobilization, with an emphasis on G protein-coupled receptors, in drug discovery and protein-ligand interaction analysis. In addition, the merits, opportunities and disadvantages are analyzed for different immobilization methods, and a perspective for future directions is presented. Given its scope, this book appeals to a broad readership, particularly researchers engaged in the field of analytical chemistry, bioconjugate chemistry, and chemical biology, and other related field, as well as teachers of relevant majors in colleges and universities.

A number of developments spanning a multitude of techniques makes this an exciting time for research in serotonin receptors. A comprehensive review of the subject from a multidisciplinary perspective, Serotonin Receptors in Neurobiology is among the first books to include information on serotonin receptor knockout studies. With contributions from leading experts in their fields, the book explores serotonin receptors from a broad-based, multidisciplinary approach. The approaches described vary from molecular biological techniques to fluorescence microscopy and imaging, to genetic manipulation in animal models, providing a wide range of tools to study serotonergic phenomena. While each of these approaches has its own advantages and limitations, the synthesis of information and knowledge achieved from studies using multiple approaches will result in a comprehensive understanding of the underlying complex phenomena involved in serotonergic signaling and its implications in health and disease. The book provides an overall understanding of these receptors based on currently used methodologies and techniques. It describes specific experimental procedures that will be of use to researchers interested in addressing similar problems involving other G-protein-coupled receptor signaling systems.