FIGURE 1.

Factors affecting signalling in response to activation of GPCRs. Glycolipids (blue hexagons), phospholipids (green rectangles), and sterols (yellow) can influence ligand binding at orthosteric, and allosteric sites. Ligands can produce different receptor conformations leading to different signalling patterns and degrees of interaction with β-arrestins, internalisation, and desensitisation. Ligands with differing physicochemical properties can result in altered spatial and temporal signal integration, and affect the relative degree of cell surface/intracellular signal transduction as well as influencing receptor recycling or lysosomal degradation.