7TMR-RAFT: A Database for the Localization of Seven Transmembrane Receptors to Lipid Rafts

Seven-transmembrane receptors (7TMRs), also known as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are the target of a large number of drugs, are involved in many physiological and pathophysiological processes. It has been demonstrated recently that these receptors do not diffuse freely in the plasma membrane, but instead localize within distinct microdomains known as lipid rafts. These lipid rafts function as a platform for a range of cellular processes, such as receptor trafficking, signal transduction, internalization and desensitization. As a growing body of data indicates that GPCRs localize in lipid rafts, I have in this research project identified the GPCRs that have been reported to be associated with lipid rafts, and categorized their behavior in response to agonists, and the role of lipid raft localization in signal transduction, internalization and trafficking of the receptors. I have also developed a database, referred to as 7TMR-RAFT, (www.7tmr-raft.org) that supports searching and browsing of data pertaining to receptors associated with lipid rafts.