期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2007
卷号：104
期号：9
页码：3125-3128
DOI：10.1073/pnas.0610886104
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Arrestins (Arrs) are ubiquitous regulators of the most numerous family of signaling proteins, G protein-coupled receptors. Two models of the Arr-receptor interaction have been proposed: the binding of one Arr to an individual receptor or to two receptors in a dimer. To determine the binding stoichiometry in vivo, we used rod photoreceptors where rhodopsin (Rh) and Arr are expressed at comparably high levels and where Arr localization in the light is determined by its binding to activated Rh. Genetic manipulation of the expression of both proteins shows that the maximum amount of Arr that moves to the Rh-containing compartment exceeds 80%, but not 100%, of the molar amount of Rh present. In vitro experiments with purified proteins confirm that Arr "saturates" Rh at a 1:1 ratio. Thus, a single Rh molecule is necessary and sufficient to bind Arr. Remarkable structural conservation among receptors and Arrs strongly suggests that all Arr subtypes bind individual molecules of their cognate receptors.
