Novel modes of regulating serotonin 5HT2c receptors.

所有活细胞的正常功能取决于它们如何对不断暴露的大量物理和化学刺激作出反应。大多数作用于细胞的刺激不是通过直接进入细胞，而是通过作用于细胞表面被称为受体的特定类型的受体蛋白。最重要的细胞表面受体家族通过与另一种称为G蛋白的蛋白质偶联将其信息传递到细胞内部，因此通常被称为G蛋白偶联受体（或gpcr）。目前的建议集中在一个特殊的gpcr家族，它介导人类大脑中神经化学物质血清素（或5HT）的作用。这些血清素GPCRs是抗抑郁和抗精神病药物的主要靶点，也在焦虑、偏头痛和食欲控制中发挥作用。尽管血清素gpcr在健康和疾病中发挥着重要作用，但许多药物作用于这些受体的作用机制尚不清楚。我们的项目将专门研究与血清素GPCR活性相关的新分子机制，这可能对理解精神疾病的机制至关重要，以及有多少精神药物实际起作用。

The normal function of all living cells depends on how they respond to the multitude of physical and chemical stimuli to which they are constantly exposed. The majority of these stimuli acting on cells do so not by directly entering the cells, but rather by acting on specific types of receiver proteins on the cell's surface that are called receptors. The most important family of cell-surface receptors transmit their message to the inside of the cell by coupling to yet another type of protein known as a G protein, and are therefore commonly referred to as G protein-coupled receptors (or GPCRs). The current proposal focuses on a special family of GPCRs that mediate the actions of the neurochemical, serotonin (or 5HT), in the human brain. These serotonin GPCRs are major targets for antidepressant and antipsychotic medications, and also play a role in anxiety, migraine and the control of appetite. Despite the important role of serotonin GPCRs in health and disease, the mechanism of action of many drugs acting on these receptors remain unknown. Our project will specifically investigate novel molecular mechanisms associated with serotonin GPCR activity that may prove vital in understanding mechanisms of psychiatric illnesses, and how many psychiatric medicines actually work.