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Elucidation of the gating of the GIRK channel using a spectroscopic approach
Author(s) -
Raveh Adi,
Riven Inbal,
Reuveny Eitan
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.2009.180158
Subject(s) - g protein coupled inwardly rectifying potassium channel , g protein coupled receptor , effector , signalling , g protein , microbiology and biotechnology , compartmentalization (fire protection) , gating , chemistry , biology , signal transduction , neuroscience , biochemistry , enzyme
The traditional view of G protein‐coupled receptor (GPCR)‐mediated signalling puts the players in this signalling cascade, namely the GPCR, the G protein and its effector, as individual components in space, where the signalling specificity is obtained mainly by the interaction of the GPCR and the Gα subunits of the G protein. A question is then raised as to how fidelity in receptor signalling is achieved, given that many systems use the same components of the G protein signalling machinery. One possible mechanism for obtaining the specific flow of the downstream signals, from the activated G protein to its specific effector target, in a timely manner, is compartmentalization, a spatial arrangement of the complex in a rather restricted space. Here we review our recent findings related to these issues, using the G protein‐coupled potassium channel (GIRK) as a model effector and fluorescence‐based approaches to reveal how the signalling complex is arranged and how the G protein exerts its action to activate the GIRK channel in intact cells.