Smart cell-surface receptors: On the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka Authors Rafael Franco Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia. María S. Aymerich Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra Abstract The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognized Professors Robert J. Lefkowtiz and Brian K. Kobilka for their work on β-adrenergic receptors, which have been the paradigm for understanding the mechanism of action of receptors coupled to heterotrimeric G proteins (GPCRs). In fact, the discovery of hundreds of members of this family of cell-surface receptors has provided a detailed understanding of how cells sense their environment. This brief article draws from the summary used by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to support its choice of Lefkowitz and Kobilka for the 2012 award. It also considers some of the diverse applications of GPCRs.Keywords: G-protein-coupled receptors · adenosine receptors · adrenergic receptors · receptor heteromers Author Biography Rafael Franco, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia. Downloads PDF Issue Vol. 9 No. 1 (2013) Section The Nobel Prizes of 2012 License This work is subject, unless the contrary is indicated in the text, the photographs or in other illustrations, to an Attribution —Non-Commercial— No Derivative Works 3.0 Creative Commons License, the full text of which can be consulted at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. You are free to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work provided that the author is credited and reuse of the material is restricted to non-commercial purposes only and that no derivative works are created from the original material.
