Adhesion GPCRs belong to the large family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). There are about 700 variants in humans, which are responsible for sensory impressions, hormonal cycles, controlling the cardiovascular system and more.
Mar 15 2024Leipzig University Adhesion GPCRs belong to the large family of G protein-coupled receptors . There are about 700 variants in humans, which are responsible for sensory impressions, hormonal cycles, controlling the cardiovascular system and more. GPCRs translate stimuli that hit a cell from outside into an intracellular biochemical signal.
The research team at the Rudolf Schönheimer Institute of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine has discovered three new adhesion GPCR genes in the genome of the fruit fly, or Drosophila. One of them is very old in evolutionary terms, and has been called mayo. In the current publication, the Leipzig scientists demonstrate the functions of this adhesion GPCR using the fruit fly as a living model.
The researchers at Leipzig University studied animals in which the mayo gene had been switched off. They found that these "knockout animals" displayed elongated guts. A similar genetic picture was observed after overexpression of another adhesion GPCR in mouse intestinal cells, resulting in a mega-intestine. The study shows that adhesion GPCRs are also involved in the development of the gastrointestinal tract in other species and that these phenomena may be relevant in humans.