Physiological Roles
GPCRs are involved in a wide variety of physiological processes. Some examples of their physiological roles include:
- The visual sense: the opsins use a photoisomerization reaction to translate electromagnetic radiation into cellular signals. Rhodopsin, for example, uses the conversion of 11-cis-retinal to all-trans-retinal for this purpose
- The sense of smell: receptors of the olfactory epithelium bind odorants (olfactory receptors) and pheromones (vomeronasal receptors)
- Behavioral and mood regulation: receptors in the mammalian brain bind several different neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and glutamate
- Regulation of immune system activity and inflammation: chemokine receptors bind ligands that mediate intercellular communication between cells of the immune system; receptors such as histamine receptors bind inflammatory mediators and engage target cell types in the inflammatory response
- Autonomic nervous system transmission: both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are regulated by GPCR pathways, responsible for control of many automatic functions of the body such as blood pressure, heart rate, and digestive processes
- Cell density sensing: A novel GPCR role in regulating cell density sensing.
- Homeostasis modulation (e.g., water balance).
- Involved in growth and metastasis of some types of tumors.
Read more about this topic: G Protein-coupled Receptors
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