Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA. sakmar@mail.rockefeller.edu
The crystal structure of rhodopsin provides significant insights concerning structure/activity relationships in visual pigments and related G-protein-coupled receptors. The specific arrangement of seven-transmembrane helices is stabilized by a series of intermolecular interactions that appear to be conserved among Family A receptors. However, the potential for structural and functional diversity among members of the superfamily of seven-helical receptors presents a significant future challenge.