biology

G protein-coupled receptors database

G protein-coupled receptors database is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand G protein-coupled receptors database rather than just read about it. In short: The GPCRdb database is the main repository of curated data for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). It integrates various web tools and diagrams for GPCR analysis and stores manual annotations of all GPCR crystal structures made available through the PDB (Protein Data Bank), has the largest collections of receptor mutants and reference sequence alignments.

G protein-coupled receptors database — illustration

Key takeaways

G protein-coupled receptors database belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect G protein-coupled receptors database to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of G protein-coupled receptors database from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The GPCRdb database is the main repository of curated data for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). It integrates various web tools and diagrams for GPCR analysis and stores manual annotations of all GPCR crystal structures made available through the PDB (Protein Data Bank), has the largest collections of receptor mutants and reference sequence alignments. A series of tools made available in the homepage for the GPCRdb can be run in the web browser to analyze structures, sequence similarities, receptor relationships, homology models, drug trends, genetic variants and ligand target profiles. Diagrams illustrate receptor sequences (using snake-plots and helix box diagrams) and relationships (phylogenetic trees).

Background and development According to Gert Vriend, one of the creators of the GPCRdb, the resource began in the following way: "The GPCRdb was started in the early 90’s when Bob Bywater, Ad IJzerman, Friedrich Rippmann, and Gert Vriend organized a series of small GPCR workshops at the EMBL. Before the introduction of the first browsers, the GPCRdb worked as an automatic Email answering system that could send sequences, alignments, and homology models to the users. In 1994 the internet was firmly established in its present form, and money was obtained from the fourth EU framework to set up the GPCRdb. Florence Horn joined us to do this project. When she left us at the end of a four-year post-doc period the GPCRdb was firmly established as the prime source of information for GPCR data." Over two decades, the GPCRdb evolved to be a comprehensive information system storing and analyzing data. In 2013, the stewardship of the GPCRdb was transferred to David Gloriam's group at the University of Copenhagen, backed up by an international team of contributors and developers from a EU COST Action called ‘GLISTEN’. The GPCRdb offers reference data and easy-to-use web tools and diagrams for a multidisciplinary audience investigating GPCR function, drug design or evolution and is actively involved in the European Research Network on Signal Transduction (‘ERNEST’).

Content and features A visual overview of the main features of the GPCRdb can be glimpsed at gpcrdb.org. The GPCRdb browsing system is structured on most relevant categories which are:

GPCRdb Receptors G Proteins B-Arrestins Biased Signaling Ligands Drugs Structure Constructs Tutorials, workshops and documentation of use. Under the categories one can find subsections for specialized data and tools.

Future directions As part of two orphan GPCR projects Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine funded by the European Research Commission and the Lundbeck Foundation, respectively, the GPCRdb will deposit data and develop computational tools for identification of endogenous and surrogate GPCR ligands. The GPCRdb aims to grow from and enable new progress in GPCR structure, function and ligand design. It crosslinks to the GuideToPharmacology database and has adopted the official NC-IUPHAR receptor naming nomenclature, has exchange with GPCR servers Archived 2015-09-08 at the Wayback Machine, and has also recently become part of the GPCR Consortium set out to generate an unprecedented number of crystal structures. Academic and industrial groups are welcome and encouraged to contact the GPCRdb with suggestions for joint development or data deposition.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with G protein-coupled receptors database

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what G protein-coupled receptors database claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to G protein-coupled receptors database before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about G protein-coupled receptors database ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of G protein-coupled receptors database

In research: G protein-coupled receptors database appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses G protein-coupled receptors database in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: G protein-coupled receptors database is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Biological databases, G protein-coupled receptors, Online databases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for G protein-coupled receptors database outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study G protein-coupled receptors database in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what G protein-coupled receptors database means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain G protein-coupled receptors database out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is G protein-coupled receptors database in simple terms?

Why does G protein-coupled receptors database matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study G protein-coupled receptors database?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on G protein-coupled receptors database.