Adrenergic Receptor Alpha 2B (ADRa2B)

Alpha-2-adrenergic receptors have a critical role in regulating neurotransmitter release from sympathetic nerves and from adrenergic neurons in the central nervous system. ADRa2B was observed to associate with eIF-2B, a guanine nucleotide exchange protein that functions in regulation of translation. A polymorphic variant of the alpha2B subtype, which lacks 3 glutamic acids from a glutamic acid repeat element, was identified to have decreased G protein-coupled receptor kinase-mediated phosphorylation and desensitization; this polymorphic form is also associated with reduced basal metabolic rate in obese subjects and may therefore contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity. ADRa2B contains no introns in either its coding or untranslated sequences.