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Science 327 (5973): 1586-1587

Copyright © 2010 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Medicine

Refugee Receptors Switch Sides

Gerald W. Dorn, II

Human heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) express two different types of β adrenergic receptor: β1AR and β2AR. Both respond to the same hormones and couple to the same biochemical signaling effectors, yet they elicit different cellular responses. On page 1653 of this issue, Nikolaev et al. (1) show that β1ARs are widely distributed at the plasma membrane (crest) of a normal cardiomyocyte, whereas β2ARs localize to transverse-tubular (T-tubule) regions at the cell surface, thus segregating their signaling. Remarkably, failing cardiomyocytes exhibit membrane remodeling that disrupts compartmentalization of βARs. This may be a primary mechanism for the pathological effects of βAR signaling in heart failure and disease.

Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.

E-mail: gdorn{at}wustl.edu

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