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  • hGPR was mapped to human chromosome q

    2021-11-30

    hGPR55 was mapped to human chromosome 2q37, and in the human CNS it is predominantly localized to the caudate, putamen, and striatum (Sawzdargo et al., 1999). In rats, in situ hybridization indicated expression in hippocampus, thalamus and regions of the midbrain (Sawzdargo et al., 1999). Ryberg et al (2007) reported mRNA expression levels in the mouse. They found the level of expression to be highest in the adrenals>frontal cortex>striatum which was similar in expression to jejunem and ileum>hypothalamus, brainstem>hippocampus, cerebellum, spleen>spinal cord>lung, liver, uterus, bladder, stomach, kidney>esophagus>adipose (ibid). Thus GPR55 mRNA is found in a number of tissues outside the CNS, where it is broadly expressed, albeit at levels significantly lower than those of CB1, perhaps the most highly expressed GPCR in the CNS (Howlett et al., 2002, Ryberg et al., 2007).
    Structure of GPR55 hGPR55 (Sawzdargo et al., 1999) is a 319 amino Cholic acid protein which belongs to the Class A GPCRs. It shares many similarities with rhodopsin. Fig. 2 shows a model of hGPR55. Among the highly conserved residues typically used in sequence alignments with rhodopsin, GPR55 has the conserved patterns in TMH1, 2, 4 and 5 (i.e., N1.50, D2.50, W4.50 and P5.50). In this, hGPR55 differs from CB1 and CB2, as these latter receptors lack the highly conserved Pro in TMH5. In the conserved TMH3 E/DRY motif, hGPR55 has the conservative substitution DRF. In TMH6, the highly conserved CWXP motif found in rhodopsin and CB1/CB2 is conservatively substituted with SFLP in hGPR55. The greatest divergence from the rhodopsin sequence (and from CB1/CB2) appears in TMH7 of hGPR55, here the highly conserved NPXXY motif is replaced with DVFCY (GPR55). Like rhodopsin, hGPR55 has an F in the intracellular extension of TMH7 (called Hx8) at position 7.60. In rhodopsin, there is an aromatic interaction between Y7.53(306) and F7.60(313) which has been proposed to provide structural constraints that rearrange in response to photoisomerization (Fritze et al., 2003). In hGPR55, the analogous relationship between Y7.53 and F7.60 can be established. Interestingly, no such interaction is possible in CB1/CB2 as position 7.60 is a Leu in CB1 and Ile in CB2. hGPR55 also potentially has another significant similarity to rhodopsin in its EC-2 loop structures (Fig. 2). In rhodopsin, the EC-2 loop dips down into the binding pocket to form a disulfide bridge between an EC-2 Cys residue and C3.25. It then loops back over itself to make its connection with the top of TMH5. hGPR55 also has a Cys at 3.25 and a Cys residue in the EC-2 loop that could potentially form a disulfide bond. So, it is likely that the EC-2 loop structure of hGPR55 will differ from that of CB1 and CB2.
    Pharmacology of GPR55
    Possible physiological functions of the GPR55 receptor The signaling pathways initiated by activation of GPR55 have been shown to have important physiological roles in other GPCRs (Dorsam and Gutkind, 2007, Luttrell and Luttrell, 2003, Rozengurt, 2007). Receptor activation of MAPK signaling (discussed below), elevated calcium levels and the production of transcription factors all have physiological roles which need to be further evaluated for GPR55. While the main core phosphorylation chain of the cascade includes Raf kinases, MEK1/2, ERK1/2 (ERKs) and RSKs, other alternatively spliced forms and distinct components exist in the different Cholic acid tiers, and participate in ERK signaling under specific conditions. These components enhance the complexity of the ERK cascade and thereby enable the wide variety of functions that are regulated by it. Other factors that have to be accounted for are the multiplicity of the cascade's substrates, which include transcription factors, protein kinases and phosphatases, cytoskeletal elements, regulators of apoptosis, and a variety of other signaling-related molecules, which increase the complexity. These factors therefore contribute to the distinct, and even opposing cellular processes that are regulated by the ERK cascade (Shaul and Seger, 2007, Yoon and Seger, 2006).