Regulator Of G Protein Signaling 5 (RGS5)

The regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins are signal transduction molecules that have structural homology to SST2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and EGL-10 of Caenorhabditis elegans. Multiple genes homologous to SST2 are present in higher eukaryotes. RGS proteins are involved in the regulation of heterotrimeric G proteins by acting as GTPase activators. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA possessed all consensus motifs of the RGS domain and showed closest homology to mouse Rgs5, with which it was 90% identical, indicating that it represented human RGS5. The mRNA of the human gene is abundantly expressed in heart, lung, skeletal muscle, and small intestine, and at low levels in brain, placenta, liver, colon, and leukocytes.