The role of Gβγ subunits in the organization, assembly, and function of GPCR signaling complexes

DJ Dupré, M Robitaille, RV Rebois… - Annual review of …, 2009 - annualreviews.org
Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology, 2009annualreviews.org
The role of Gβγ subunits in cellular signaling has become well established in the past 20
years. Not only do they regulate effectors once thought to be the sole targets of Gα subunits,
but it has become clear that they also have a unique set of binding partners and regulate
signaling pathways that are not always localized to the plasma membrane. However, this
may be only the beginning of the story. Gβγ subunits interact with G protein–coupled
receptors, Gα subunits, and several different effector molecules during assembly and …
The role of Gβγ subunits in cellular signaling has become well established in the past 20 years. Not only do they regulate effectors once thought to be the sole targets of Gα subunits, but it has become clear that they also have a unique set of binding partners and regulate signaling pathways that are not always localized to the plasma membrane. However, this may be only the beginning of the story. Gβγ subunits interact with G protein–coupled receptors, Gα subunits, and several different effector molecules during assembly and trafficking of receptor-based signaling complexes and not simply in response to ligand stimulation at sites of receptor cellular activity. Gβγ assembly itself seems to be tightly regulated via the action of molecular chaperones and in turn may serve a similar role in the assembly of specific signaling complexes. We propose that specific Gβγ subunits have a broader role in controlling the architecture, assembly, and activity of cellular signaling pathways.
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