Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins accelerate GTP hydrolysis by Gi but not by Gs class alpha-subunits. All RGS proteins share a conserved 120-amino acid sequence termed the RGS domain. We have demonstrated that the RGS domains of RGS4, RGS10, and GAIP retain GTPase accelerating activity with the Gi class substrates Gialpha1, Goalpha, and Gzalpha in vitro. No regulatory activity of...

Regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins are responsible for the rapid turnoff of G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathways. The major mechanism whereby RGS proteins negatively regulate G proteins is via the GTPase activating protein activity of their RGS domain. Structural and mutational analyses have characterized the RGS/G alpha interaction in detail, explaining the molecular mech...

Regulator of G-protein–signaling (RGS) proteins play a key role in the regulation of G-protein–coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. The characteristic hallmark of RGS proteins is a conserved 120-aa RGS region that confers on these proteins the ability to serve as GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) for G proteins. Most RGS proteins can serve as GAPs for multiple isoforms of G and therefore have the...

A novel splice variant of RGS 9 was isolated from a rat hypothalamus, human retina, and a human kidney (Wilm's) tumor. This variant, termed RGS 9L, differs from the retinal form (termed RGS 9S) identified previously in that it contains a 211- (rat) or 205- (human) amino acid proline-rich domain on the carboxyl terminus. The pattern of RGS 9 mRNA splicing was tissue specific, with striatum, hypo...

The R7 regulator of G protein signaling family (R7-RGS) critically regulates nervous system development and function. Mice lacking all R7-RGS subtypes exhibit diverse neurological phenotypes, and humans bearing mutations in the retinal R7-RGS isoform RGS9-1 have vision deficits. Although each R7-RGS subtype forms heterotrimeric complexes with Gβ5 and R7-RGS-binding protein (R7BP) that regulate ...

OBJECTIVE A new family of guanosine triphosphatase-activating proteins known as regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) has been found to regulate the desensitization of several G protein-coupled ligand-induced processes. The expression of nine RGS mRNAs was found in human thyroid tissue (RGS 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14 and 16). At present, little is known as to whether any of the RGS proteins pl...

Although neck and low-back pain are common sources of neuropathic pain with high societal costs, the pathophysiology ofneuropathic pain is not well-defined. Traditionally, most rodent pain studies rely on evoked reflex-based testing to measure pain.However, these testing methods do not reveal spontaneous pain, particularly early after injury. The rat grimace scale (RGS) forquantifying spontaneo...

Signal transduction through heterotrimeric G proteins is critical for sensory response across species. Regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins are negative regulators of signal transduction. Herein we describe a role for C. elegans RGS-3 in the regulation of sensory behaviors. rgs-3 mutant animals fail to respond to intense sensory stimuli but respond normally to low concentrations of s...

In this article we review recent advances in our understanding of the crucial role of the Regulator of G protein Signaling (RGS) proteins in opioid signaling mechanisms and opioid tolerance development. Opioids exert their physiologic effects via complex G protein-coupled receptor-signaling mechanisms, and RGS proteins are now known to tightly regulate the G protein signaling cycle. RGS protein...

BACKGROUND In real-time RT quantitative PCR (qPCR) the accuracy of normalized data is highly dependent on the reliability of the reference genes (RGs). Failure to use an appropriate control gene for normalization of qPCR data may result in biased gene expression profiles, as well as low precision, so that only gross changes in expression level are declared statistically significant or patterns ...