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Perspective

Bring Your Own G Protein

Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-G fusion proteins were first characterized more than 10 years ago as a strategy for studying receptor-G protein signaling. A large number of studies have used this approach to characterize receptor coupling to members of the G_s, G_i, and G_q families of G subunits, but this strategy has not been widely used to study G₁₂ and G₁₃. As described in the article by Zhang et al. in this issue of Molecular Pharmacology (p. 1433) characterization of the signaling properties of thromboxane A₂ receptor (TP) -G₁₂ and -G₁₃ fusion constructs demonstrates the applicability of this strategy to members of this unique family of G subunits, and how this strategy can be used to resolve otherwise difficult problems of receptor pharmacology associated with these proteins. The general strategy of making receptor-G fusion constructs has wide applicability to a number of research problems, but there are perhaps also "hidden messages" in how different receptor-G subunit fusion pairs behave.

Address correspondence to: John D. Hildebrandt, Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Ave., 303BSB, Charleston, SC 29425. E-mail: hildebjd{at}musc.edu