Studies of the mechanisms of action and regulation
of hormones and neurotransmitters at the cellular
and molecular levels constitute the main goals our
of research activities. G protein-coupled receptors
(GPCR) mediate the actions of signaling molecules
from unicellular organisms to man. We have used adrenergic
and dopamine receptors to characterize the structure/function
and regulation mechanisms of these prototypes of G
protein-coupled receptors. Another approach has been
to characterize the nature of neurotransmitter transporters
for dopamine, norepinephrine and other neurotransmitters
in an attempt to understand their function in normal
and pathological neurotransmission. Our laboratory
uses biochemical, molecular biology and gene targeting
approaches to examine these questions.
