Heterotrimeric G Protein Signal Transduction

The Tesmer lab studies the structure of and interactions between intracellular proteins that respond to extracellular signals. Shown above is a model of a peripheral membrane complex containing the heterotrimeric G protein Gβγ, G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2, in solid spheres), and an activated cell surface heptahelical receptor. Another heterotrimeric G protein subunit, Gαq (not shown), also associates with this scaffold. The grey planes demark the expected boundaries of the cell membrane. Gαq and GRK2 play important roles in the development and regulation of the heart, and are also implicated in the progression of heart disease. Understanding the molecular basis and the physiological roles of these and other signaling complexes is a major theme of our research.