<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<article article-type="research-article" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
    <front>
        <journal-meta>
            <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">TOBIOJ</journal-id>
            <journal-title>The Open Biology Journal</journal-title>
            <abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="pubmed">Open Biol. J.</abbrev-journal-title>
            <issn pub-type="epub">1874-1967</issn>
            <publisher>
                <publisher-name>Bentham Open</publisher-name>
            </publisher>
        </journal-meta>
        <article-meta>
            <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">TOBIOJ-4-47</article-id>
            <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.2174/1874196701104010047</article-id>
            <article-categories>
                <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
                    <subject>Biology</subject>
                </subj-group>
            </article-categories>
            <title-group>
                <article-title>On the Role of G Protein-Coupled Receptors Oligomerization</article-title>
            </title-group>
            <contrib-group>
                <contrib>
                    <name>
                        <surname>G&#xF3;mez-Soler</surname>
                        <given-names>Maricel </given-names>
                    </name>
                </contrib>
                <contrib>
                    <name>
                        <surname>Ahern</surname>
                        <given-names>Siobh&#xE1;n </given-names>
                    </name>
                </contrib>
                <contrib>
                    <name>
                        <surname>Fern&#xE1;ndez-Due&#xF1;as</surname>
                        <given-names>V&#xED;ctor</given-names>
                    </name>
                </contrib>
                <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
                    <name>
                        <surname>Ciruela</surname>
                        <given-names>Francisco</given-names>
                    </name>
                    <xref ref-type="corresp" rid="cor1">&#x002A;</xref>
                </contrib>
            </contrib-group>
            <aff>University of Barcelona,
Unitat de Farmacologia, Dept. de Patologia i Terapeutica Experimental,
Facultat de Medicina (Campus de Bellvitge), Pavell&#xF3; de Govern, Av. Feixa
Llarga, s/n, 08907 L'Hospitalet del Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.</aff>
            <author-notes>
                <corresp id="cor1">
                    <label>&#x002A;</label>Address correspondence to this author at the University of Barcelona,
Unitat de Farmacologia, Dept. de Patologia i Terapeutica Experimental,
Facultat de Medicina (Campus de Bellvitge), Pavelló de Govern, Av. Feixa
Llarga, s/n, 08907 L'Hospitalet del Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Tel: +34
(93) 402 4280/ +34 (93) 403 5820; Fax: +34 (93) 402 9082; E-mail: <email xlink:href="fciruela@ub.edu">fciruela@ub.edu</email></corresp>
            </author-notes>
            <pub-date pub-type="epub">
                <day>26</day>
                <month>05</month>
                <year>2011</year>
            </pub-date>
            <pub-date pub-type="collection">
                <year>2011</year>
            </pub-date>
            <volume>04</volume>
            <fpage>47</fpage>
            <lpage>53</lpage>
            <history>
                <date date-type="received">
                    <day>30</day>
                    <month>03</month>
                    <year>2011</year>
                </date>
                <date date-type="rev-recd">
                    <day>22</day>
                    <month>04</month>
                    <year>2011</year>
                </date>
                <date date-type="accepted">
                    <day>25</day>
                    <month>04</month>
                    <year>2011</year>
                </date>
            </history>
            <permissions>
                <copyright-statement>&#x00A9; 2010 Gómez-Soler <italic>et al</italic>.</copyright-statement>
                <copyright-year>2011</copyright-year>
                <copyright-holder>Maricel G&#xF3;mez-Soler</copyright-holder>
                <license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode">
                    <p>This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: <uri xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode</uri>.  This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.</p>
                </license>
            </permissions>
            <abstract>
                <p>The existence of a supramolecular organization of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) is now being widely
accepted by the scientific community. Indeed, GPCR oligomers may enhance the diversity and performance by which
extracellular signals are transferred to the G proteins in the process of receptor transduction, although the mechanism that
underlies this phenomenon still remains unsolved. Recently, it has been proposed that a trans-conformational switching
model could be the mechanism allowing direct inhibition/activation of receptor activation/inhibition, respectively. Thus,
heterotropic receptor-receptor allosteric regulations are behind the GPCR oligomeric function. In this paper we want to
revise how GPCR oligomerization impinges on several important receptor functions like biosynthesis, plasma membrane
diffusion or velocity, pharmacology and signaling. In particular, the rationale of receptor oligomerization might lie in the
need of sensing complex whole cell extracellular signals and translating them into a simple computational model.</p>
            </abstract>
            <kwd-group>
                <title>Keywords</title>
                <kwd>G protein-coupled receptor</kwd>
                <kwd>protein-protein interaction</kwd>
                <kwd>GPCR oligomerization</kwd>
            </kwd-group>
        </article-meta>
    </front>
</article>
