Galanin receptor subtypes and ligand binding

Galanin is a neuropeptide initiating its multiple biological effects by bin ding to different subtypes of seven transmembrane spanning galanin receptor s, thus transducing the extracellular signal to G-proteins. There is a wide range of galanin receptor ligands available today, and some of the ligands have been shown to act as antagonists in galaninergic signal transduction systems at tissue level and in vivo. Subtype-specific galanin receptor liga nds could be used selectively to initiate or block the effects of galanin i n order to provide insights into the role of galanin both at normal and pat hophysiological conditions, and in the development of compounds with therap eutical values. This review highlights the recent reports on the binding af finities of GalR in CNS and transfected cell lines. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publi shers Ltd.