Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)/human herpesvirus 8, a virus that appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphomas, encodes a G protein-coupled receptor (KSHV-GPCR) that exhibits constitutive signaling. In this report, we show that two chemokines, interleukin 8 (IL-8) and growth-related protein-alpha, activate KSHV-GPCR over constituti...

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)/human herpesvirus 8, which is consistently present in tissues of patients with Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphomas, contains a gene that encodes a G protein-coupled receptor (KSHV-GPCR). We recently showed that KSHV-GPCR exhibits constitutive signaling via activation of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C and stimulates cell proli...

Insect herbivores use phytochemicals as signals to induce expression of their phytochemical-detoxifying cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s). The regulatory cascades that transduce phytochemical enhanced P450s are the focus this review. At least seven signaling pathways, including RTK/MAPK, GPCR/CREB, GPCR/NF?B, ROS/CncC/Keap1, AhR/ARNT, cytosol NR, and nucleus-located may be involved in indu...

Background and ObjectiveThe molecular mechanisms that underpin platelet granule secretion remain poorly defined. Filamin A (FLNA) is an actin-crosslinking signaling scaffold protein whose role in exocytosis has not been explored despite evidence FLNA gene mutations confer defects humans.Methods ResultsUsing platelets from platelet-specific conditional Flna-knockout mice, we showed the loss of c...

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest and the most physiologically important membrane protein family that recognizes a variety of environmental stimuli, and are drug targets in the treatment of numerous diseases. Recent progress on GPCR structural studies shed light on molecular mechanisms of GPCR ligand recognition, activation and allosteric modulation, as well as structur...

The valuable source of large-scale genomic information initiated attempts to identify the origin(s) of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR), count and categorize those genes, and follow their evolutionary history. Being present in fungi, plants, and unicellular eukaryotes, GPCR must have evolved before the plant-fungianimal split about 1.5 billion years ago. Phylogenetic analyses revealed several...

The Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) (also known as human herpesvirus 8) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Kaposi's sarcoma and B cell primary effusion lymphomas. KSHV encodes a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that acts as an oncogene and constitutively activates two protein kinases, c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK)/stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) and p38 mitoge...

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) belong to a large family of molecules eliciting different responses variety signaling molecules. These participate in various physiological functions such as metabolism, growth, immune responses, inflammation, vision, taste, olfaction, and neurotransmission well pathologic including chronic inflammatory vascular diseases. Receptors contributing the biological ...

Heteromerization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) can significantly change the functional properties of involved receptors. Various biochemical and biophysical methodologies have been developed in the last two decades to identify and functionally evaluate GPCR heteromers in heterologous cells, with recent approaches focusing on GPCR complex stoichiometry and stability. Yet validation of t...