Signaling Receptome: A Genomic and Evolutionary Perspective of Plasma Membrane Receptors Involved in Signal Transduction
Izhar Ben-Shlomo
,
Sheau Yu Hsu,
Rami Rauch,
Haili W. Kowalski, and
Aaron J. W. Hsueh*
Division of Reproductive Biology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA 94305-5317, USA.
Present address: HaEmek Medical Center, Afula, Israel; Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Gloss: Receptor proteins in the plasma membrane of cells are responsible for the reception and transmission of outside signals secreted by neighboring or remote cells. Defects in these cell surface proteins are responsible for various hormonal diseases, developmental defects, and tumor formation. Based on functional similarity and sequence relatedness, human receptor genes can be grouped into a limited number of families, and their evolutionary origins can now be traced by comparing sequences of similar genes found in humans and various model organisms. This STKE Review discusses the common features and possible evolutionary origins of some of the human plasma membrane receptors involved in signal transduction. The Review contains nine figures, two tables, and 157 citations. A database (http://Receptome.Stanford.edu) has been established to allow searches for human plasma membrane receptors based on their family relationship, evolution, and sequences.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: aaron.hsueh{at}stanford.edu
