G Protein Coupled Receptor 37 (GPR37)

GPR37, a predicted 613-amino acid protein with 7 hydrophobic domains and significant similarity to GPCRs. The authors isolated the genomic sequence of GPR37 and found that it is composed of 2 exons and spans approximately 25 kb. GPR37 is expressed in brain as a major 3.8-kb mRNA and a less abundant 8-kb mRNA; the 3.8-kb mRNA is also detected in liver and placenta. The GPR37 protein is 27% identical to EDNRB. In situ hybridization and reverse transcriptase in situ gene amplification showed that GPR37 mRNA is particularly concentrated in Purkinje cells of the cerebellum and in neuronal cells of the hippocampus. Functional assays indicated that endothelin-1 (EDN1), endothelin-3 (EDN3), bombesin, and neuropeptide Y (NPY) did not have an effect on mammalian cells expressing recombinant GPR37.