Allosteric Modulation of the Calcium-Sensing Receptor

The calcium (Ca2+)-sensing receptor (CaR) belongs to family C of the G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The receptor is activated by physiological levels of Ca2+ (and Mg2+) and positively modulated by a range of proteinogenic L-α-amino acids. Recently, several synthetic allosteric modulators of the receptor have been developed, which either act as positive modulators (termed calcimimetics) or negative modulators (termed calcilytics). These ligands do not activate the wild-type receptor directly, but rather shift the concentration-response curves of Ca2+ to the left or right, respectively. Like other family C GPCRs, the CaR contains a large amino-terminal domain and a 7-transmembrane domain. Whereas the endogenous ligands for the receptor, Ca2+, Mg2+ and the L-α-amino acids, bind to the amino-terminal domain, most if not all of the synthetic modulators published so far bind to the 7-transmembrane domain

Class C Orphans in GtoPdb v.2023.1

This set contains class C 'orphan' G protein coupled receptors where the endogenous ligand(s) is not known

Class C Orphans (version 2019.4) in the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology Database

This set contains class C 'orphan' G protein coupled receptors where the endogenous ligand(s) is not known

Metabolic and skeletal homeostasis are maintained in full locus GPRC6A knockout mice

Abstract The G protein-coupled receptor class C, group 6, subtype A (GPRC6A) is suggested to have a physiological function in glucose and bone metabolism, although the precise role lacks consensus due to varying findings in different knockout (KO) mouse models and inconsistent findings on the role of osteocalcin, a proposed GPRC6A agonist. We have further characterized a full locus GPRC6A KO model with respect to energy metabolism, including a long-term high-dose glucocorticoid metabolic challenge. Additionally, we analyzed the microarchitecture of tibiae from young, middle-aged and aged GPRC6A KO mice and wildtype (WT) littermates. Compared to WT, vehicle-treated KO mice presented with normal body composition, unaltered insulin sensitivity and basal serum insulin and glucose levels. Corticosterone (CS) treatment resulted in insulin resistance, abnormal fat accrual, loss of lean mass and suppression of serum osteocalcin levels in both genotypes. Interestingly, serum osteocalcin and skeletal osteocalcin mRNA levels were significantly lower in vehicle-treated GPRC6A KO mice compared to WT animals. However, WT and KO age groups did not differ in long bone mass and structure assessed by micro-computed tomography. We conclude that GPRC6A is not involved in glucose metabolism under normal physiological conditions, nor does it mediate glucocorticoid-induced dysmetabolism in mice. Moreover, GPRC6A does not appear to possess a direct, non-compensable role in long bone microarchitecture under standard conditions