biology

Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1

Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 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 Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 rather than just read about it. In short: Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 (HCA1), formerly known as G protein-coupled receptor 81 (GPR81), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HCAR1 gene. HCA1, like the other hydroxycarboxylic acid receptors HCA2 and HCA3, is a Gi/o-coupled G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR).

Key takeaways

Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 (HCA1), formerly known as G protein-coupled receptor 81 (GPR81), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HCAR1 gene. HCA1, like the other hydroxycarboxylic acid receptors HCA2 and HCA3, is a Gi/o-coupled G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). The primary endogenous agonist of HCA1 is lactic acid (and its conjugate base, lactate). More recently, 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid has been reported to activate HCA1. Lactate was initially found to activate HCA1 on fat cells and thereby to inhibit these cells lipolysis i.e., break-down of their fats into free fatty acids and glycerol. Subsequent studies have found that in addition to fat cells, HCA1 is expressed on cells in the brain, skeletal muscle, lymphoid tissue, uterus, kidney, liver, and pancreas as well as on immune cells such as macrophages and antigen-presenting cells. In the brain, HCA1 acts to dampen neuron excitation and may also function to promote neurogenesis (the production of neurons from neural stem cells) and angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing blood vessels). The functions of HCA1 in non-fat and non-neural tissues have not been fully defined but in many cases appear to involve promoting the survival of cells, including various types of cancer cells.

Ligands Agonists AZ'5538

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 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 Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 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 Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 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 Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1

In research: Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 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 Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 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: Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics G protein-coupled receptors, Genes on human chromosome 12, Human chromosome 12 gene stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 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 Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 in simple terms?

Why does Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 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 Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1?

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 Hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1.