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Cardiac Protein Rgs2: Structural And Functional Determinants, Stephanie Jan Chambers
Cardiac Protein Rgs2: Structural And Functional Determinants, Stephanie Jan Chambers
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
In this study, I explored the structure-function relationships of a cardiac RGS (regulator of G-protein signaling) protein, RGS2.
Contractions of the heart are triggered by calcium ions (Ca) entering heart cells through L-type Ca channels (1a). The activity of L-type channels (and thereby Ca influx) is modulated by cell surface receptors that couple to intracellular G proteins. G proteins in turn, are regulated by a newly-discovered family of proteins called RGS. RGS proteins speed the hydrolysis of GTP by G proteins, and thereby control the strength and duration of G protein-mediated signals. Stimulation of G proteins, which are coupled to …