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G Proteins and Regulation of Adenylate Cyclase (Nobel Lecture)
Author(s) -
Gilman Alfred G.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition in english
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 0570-0833
DOI - 10.1002/anie.199514061
Subject(s) - adenylate kinase , cyclase , second messenger system , biochemistry , enzyme , receptor , g protein , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , nucleotide , extracellular , growth hormone releasing hormone receptor , gtp binding protein regulators , 5 ht5a receptor , intracellular , biology , hormone receptor , gene , genetics , cancer , breast cancer
How is the hormone‐activated synthesis of the second messenger cyclic AMP regulated? Or, in more general terms, how does the interaction of an extracellular agonist with a receptor lead to intracellular enzyme activity when receptor and enzyme are not distinct macromolecules? The mediators are membrane‐bound, guanine nucleotide binding regulatory proteins (G proteins). When the receptor is activated, G proteins dissociate into their subunits. These in turn activate or inhibit enzymes such as adenylate cyclases, which catalyze the synthesis of cyclic AMP. In these signal transmission processes G proteins act as molecular switches and amplifiers.