The Gs alpha subunit (Gαs, Gsα) is a subunit of the
heterotrimeric G proteinGs that stimulates the
cAMP-dependent pathway by activating
adenylyl cyclase. Gsα is a
GTPase that functions as a cellular signaling protein.
Gsα is the founding member of one of the four families of heterotrimeric G proteins, defined by the
alpha subunits they contain: the Gαs family,
Gαi/Gαo family,
Gαq family, and
Gα12/Gα13 family.[5] The Gs-family has only two members: the other member is Golf, named for its predominant expression in the olfactory system. In humans, Gsα is encoded by the
GNAS complex locus, while Golfα is encoded by the
GNAL gene.
Although each GTP-bound Gsα can activate only one adenylyl cyclase enzyme, amplification of the signal occurs because one receptor can activate multiple copies of Gs while that receptor remains bound to its activating
agonist, and each Gsα-bound adenylyl cyclase enzyme can generate substantial cAMP to activate many copies of PKA.[8]
Receptors
The G protein-coupled receptors that couple to the Gs family proteins include:
^"Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
^"Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
^Ellis C, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery GPCR Questionnaire Participants (July 2004). "The state of GPCR research in 2004". Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery. 3 (7): 575, 577–626.
doi:
10.1038/nrd1458.
PMID15272499.
S2CID33620092.
^Purves D, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, Hall WC, LaMantia AS, White LE, eds. (2007). Neuroscience (4th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman. p. 155.
ISBN978-0-87893-697-7.
Overview of all the structural information available in the
PDB for
UniProt: P63092 (Guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(s) subunit alpha isoforms short) at the
PDBe-KB.