ADRA2B Antibody

Background:

FUNCTION: α-2 adrenergic receptors mediate the catecholamine-induced inhibition of adenylate cyclase through the action of G proteins. The rank order of potency for agonists of this receptor is clonidine > norepinephrine > epinephrine = oxymetazoline > dopamine > p-tyramine = phenylephrine > serotonin > p-synephrine / p-octopamine. For antagonists, the rank order is yohimbine > chlorpromazine > phentolamine > mianserine > spiperone > prazosin > alprenolol > propanolol > pindolol.

SUMMARY: α-2-adrenergic receptors are members of the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. They include 3 highly homologous subtypes: α2A, α2B, and α2C. These receptors have a critical role in regulating neurotransmitter release from sympathetic nerves and from adrenergic neurons in the central nervous system. This protein is the α2B subtype, which was observed to associate with eIF-2B, a guanine nucleotide exchange protein that functions in regulation of translation. A polymorphic variant of the α2B subtype, which lacks 3 glutamic acids from a glutamic acid repeat element, was identified to have decreased G protein-coupled receptor kinase-mediated phosphorylation and desensitization; this polymorphic form is also associated with reduced basal metabolic rate in obese subjects and may therefore contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity. This protein contains no introns in either its coding or untranslated sequences.