muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subfamily, member of the class A family of seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) regulate the activity of many fundamental central and peripheral functions. The mAChR family consists of 5 subtypes M1-M5, which can be further divided into two major groups according to their G-protein coupling preference. The M1, M3 and M5 receptors selectively interact with G proteins of the G(q/11) family, whereas the M2 and M4 receptors preferentially link to the G(i/o) types of G proteins. Activation of mAChRs by agonist (acetylcholine) leads to a variety of biochemical and electrophysiological responses. In general, the exact nature of these responses and the subsequent physiological effects mainly depend on the molecular and pharmacological identity of the activated receptor subtype(s). All GPCRs have a common structural architecture comprising of seven-transmembrane (TM) alpha-helices interconnected by three extracellular and three intracellular loops. A general feature of GPCR signaling is agonist-induced conformational changes in the receptors, leading to activation of the heterotrimeric G proteins, which consist of the guanine nucleotide-binding G-alpha subunit and the dimeric G-beta-gamma subunits. The activated G proteins then bind to and activate numerous downstream effector proteins, which generate second messengers that mediate a broad range of cellular and physiological processes.
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