GPR30 and RAMP3 interact and are cardioprotective

Receptor activity-modifying protein 3 (RAMP3) is known to interact with and affect the trafficking of several G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The identification of novel GPCR–RAMP interactions is of great interest because this complex forms a pharmacologically tractable interface, which could potentially be manipulated for the treatment of human disease.

In the current study, Lenhart et al. identified GPR30, an E2 receptor with important functions in the cardiovascular system, as a novel target for RAMP3. The association of GPR30 with a RAMP is of particular interest because this has the potential to clarify much of the controversy that still surrounds GPR30's cellular localization, ligand-binding specificity, and function.

Their results demonstrate for the first time that GPR30 and RAMP3 interact. This interaction has functional consequences on the localization of these proteins, and they show that RAMP3 plays a critical and sex-dependent role in GPR30-mediated cardioprotection.

Read the full article at Lenhart et al (2013) Journal of Molecular Endocrinology 51; 191-202; DOI: 10.1530/JME-13-0021.