Signaling levels within sensory neurons must be tightly regulated to allow cells to integrate information from multiple signaling inputs and to respond to new stimuli. Herein we report a new role for the cGMP-dependent protein kinase EGL-4 in the negative regulation of G protein-coupled nociceptive chemosensory signaling. C. elegans lacking EGL-4 function are hypersensitive in their behavioral ...

Drugs of abuse such as opioids and stimulants share a common dopaminergic reward pathway; however, in response to continual intermittent exposure to such drugs, there are neuronal alterations leading to changes in behavior. Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) are proteins that negatively regulate G protein signaling and are expressed in brain areas important for the pharmacology of abused d...

Selection of reference genes (RGs) for normalization PCR-gene expression data includes two crucial steps: determination the between-sample transcriptionally more stable genes, and subsequent choosing most suitable as internal controls. Both steps can be carried out through generally accepted strategies, each having different strengths weaknesses. The present study proposes reinforcement gene by...

Axin, a negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway, contains a canonical regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) core domain. Herein, we demonstrate both in vitro and in cells that this domain interacts with the subunit of the heterotrimeric G protein G12 but not with the closely related G 13 or with several other heterotrimeric G proteins. Axin preferentially binds the activated form of G ...

Cardiac fibroblasts play a key role in fibrosis development in response to stress and injury. Angiotensin II (ANG II) is a major profibrotic activator whose downstream effects (such as phospholipase Cβ activation, cell proliferation, and extracellular matrix secretion) are mainly mediated via G(q)-coupled AT(1) receptors. Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS), which accelerate termination of ...

BACKGROUND Rgs1, a prototypical Regulator of G protein Signaling, negatively modulates the cyclic AMP pathway thereby influencing various aspects of asexual development and pathogenesis in the rice-blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Rgs1 possesses tandem DEP motifs (termed DEP-A and DEP-B; for Dishevelled, Egl-10, Pleckstrin) at the N-terminus, and a Gα-GTP interacting RGS catalytic core domain a...

RGS proteins are GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) for G protein alpha-subunits. This GAP activity is mediated by the interaction of conserved residues on regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins and Galpha-subunits. We mutated the important contact sites Glu-89, Asn-90, and Asn-130 in RGS16 to lysine, aspartate, and alanine, respectively. The interaction of RGS16 and its mutants with Ga...

Signaling via heterotrimeric G proteins plays a crucial role in modulating the responses of striatal neurons that ultimately shape core behaviors mediated by the basal ganglia circuitry, such as reward valuation, habit formation, and movement coordination. Activation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) by extracellular signals activates heterotrimeric G proteins by promoting the binding of G...

RGS14 is a multifunctional scaffolding protein possessing two distinct G protein interaction sites including a regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) domain that acts as a GTPase activating protein (GAP) to deactivate Gαi/o-GTP proteins, and a G protein regulatory (GPR) motif that binds inactive Gαi1/3-GDP proteins independent of Gβγ. GPR interactions with Gαi recruit RGS14 to the plasma membra...