Structure
The CB1 receptor shares the structure characteristic of all G-protein-coupled receptors, possessing seven transmembrane domains connected by three extracellular and three intracellular loops, an extracellular N-terminal tail, and an intracellular C-terminal tail. These receptors may exist as homodimers or form heterodimers or oligomers when coexpressed with one or more classes of G-protein-coupled receptors. Observed heterodimers include A2ACB1, A2A, CB1D2, orexin 1/CB1, while many more may only be stable enough to exist in vivo. Recent evidence suggests that these receptors may also possess an allosteric binding site, which may become a target for enhancing the clinical modulatory effects of cannabinoids.
Read more about this topic: Cannabinoid Receptor Type 1
Famous quotes containing the word structure:
“When a house is tottering to its fall,
The strain lies heaviest on the weakest part,
One tiny crack throughout the structure spreads,
And its own weight soon brings it toppling down.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
“One theme links together these new proposals for family policy—the idea that the family is exceedingly durable. Changes in structure and function and individual roles are not to be confused with the collapse of the family. Families remain more important in the lives of children than other institutions. Family ties are stronger and more vital than many of us imagine in the perennial atmosphere of crisis surrounding the subject.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)
“The philosopher believes that the value of his philosophy lies in its totality, in its structure: posterity discovers it in the stones with which he built and with which other structures are subsequently built that are frequently better—and so, in the fact that that structure can be demolished and yet still possess value as material.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)