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Molecular mechanisms of receptor desensitization using the β-adrenergic receptor-coupled adenylate cyclase system as a model

Nature volume 317, pages 124–129 (1985)Cite this article

Abstract

Desensitization, the tendency of biological responses to wane over time despite the continuous presence of a stimulus of constant intensity, is observed in organisms as diverse as bacteria and mammals. Recently, new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena have emerged from the study of the receptors coupled to the ubiquitous second messenger-generating system adenylate cyclase. These mechanisms involve sequestration or down-regulation of the receptors from the cell surface as well as functionally significant covalent modifications of the receptors and / or guanine nucleotide regulatory proteins.

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  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA

    David R. Sibley & Robert J. Lefkowitz

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Sibley, D., Lefkowitz, R. Molecular mechanisms of receptor desensitization using the β-adrenergic receptor-coupled adenylate cyclase system as a model. Nature 317, 124–129 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/317124a0

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