Signaling Across the Cell Membrane

摘要

Cells contain a panoply of transmembrane receptor molecules that can recognize external signals and initiate intracellular signaling events. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)-the largest and most diverse group of these receptors-occur in nearly every eukaryotic cell and can sense photons, cations, small molecules, peptides, and proteins (1,2). Understanding how GPCRs operate has therefore been a major goal in signaling research for more than two decades (3). Two research articles in this issue (4, 5) and a recent article in Nature (6) report important steps toward this goal.