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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 May 13.
Published in final edited form as: Nature. 2015 Jul 6;524(7564):173–179. doi: 10.1038/nature14663

Figure 1. Gα signaling states and activation.

Figure 1

Heterotrimeric G proteins (1) release GDP upon binding to a GDP Exchange Factor (GEF), which are G protein-coupled receptors, (2) bind GTP and recruit downstream effectors, and (3) hydrolyze GTP promoted by GTPase activating protein (GAP), leading to (4) the inactive, GDP-bound state. Structures of the Gα subunit (blue) bound to GDP (1got; inactive state; top) and bound to the β2-AR (grey) (3sn6; active state; bottom) are shown.