Otavio Cabral Marques and Gabriela Riemekasten
University of Lübeck, Germany
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise the largest and most diverse family of integral membrane proteins mediating homeostatic and pathological processes. Here, we discuss the effects of an imbalanced GPCRs physiology in the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. In this context, GPCRs are involved in the abnormal cellular infiltration into inflamed tissues as well as determining the time for the presence of immune cells in these sites. Among the molecules able to trigger GPCR signaling, autoantibodies against GPCRs modulate receptor activation in both homeostatic and pathological conditions. This fact supports a change of paradigm from the notion that autoantibodies are an exclusive autoimmune phenomenon to the concept that they are part of the normal human physiology, which become dysregulated under the influence of different factors and subsequently cause autoimmune diseases. Patients with autoimmune diseases still suffer from severe morbidity and high mortality rates. Therefore, the expansion of our understanding about GPCR physiology might bring up novel opportunities to develop therapeutic modalities.
Email: otavio.marques@uksh.de
