The small discovery that hinted at something bigger

摘要

In 1968, Robert Lefkowitz tagged hormones with radioactive iodine molecules and showed that the hormones could bind to a receptor outside a cell and trigger a reaction inside it - demonstrating for the first time the existence of biologically active receptors. Brian Kobilka joined Lefkowitz's team in the 1980s with the aim of isolating the gene that encodes the receptor for the hormone adrenaline, which has a key role in the regulation of cardiovascular function. In 1986, they succeeded in cloningthe β2-adrenergic receptor and realized that it was very similar to the light-detecting receptor, rhodopsin; both had multiple membrane-spanning domains and large hydrophobic stretches.