G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are targets for ~35% of approved drugs but only ~15% of the ~800 human GPCRs are currently such targets. GPCRomics, the use of unbiased, hypothesisgenerating methods (e.g., RNA-sequencing [RNA-seq]), with tissues and cell types to identify and quantify GPCR expression, has led to the discovery of previously unrecognized GPCRs that contribute to functional responses and pathophysiology and that may be therapeutic targets. The combination of GPCR expression data with validation studies (e.g., signaling and functional activities) provides opportunities for the discovery of disease-relevant GPCR targets and therapeutics. Here, we review insights from GPCRomic approaches, gaps in knowledge and future directions by which GPCRomics can advance GPCR biology and the discovery of new GPCRtargeted drugs.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the largest family of signaling receptors in the human genome, are also the largest class of targets of approved drugs. Are the optimal GPCRs (in terms of efficacy and safety) currently targeted therapeutically? Especially given the large number (∼120) of orphan GPCRs (which lack known physiologic agonists), it is likely that previously unrecognized GPCRs, especially orphan receptors, regulate cell function and can be therapeutic targets. Knowledge is limited regarding the diversity and identity of GPCRs that are activated by endogenous ligands and that native cells express. Here, we review approaches to define GPCR expression in tissues and cells and results from studies using these approaches. We identify problems with the available data and suggest future ways to identify and validate the physiologic and therapeutic roles of previously unrecognized GPCRs. We propose that a particularly useful approach to identify functionally important GPCRs with therapeutic potential will be to focus on receptors that show selective increases in expression in diseased cells from patients and experimental animals.

We have shown that calcium (Ca2+) oscillations in human pulmonary fibroblasts (HPFs) contribute to profibrotic effects of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and that disruption of these oscillations blunts features of pulmonary fibrosis. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) exerts antifibrotic effects in the lung, but the mechanisms for this action are not well defined. We thus sought to explore interactions between PGE2 and the profibrotic agent TGF-β in pulmonary fibroblasts (PFs) isolated from patients with or without idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). PGE2 inhibited TGF-β-promoted [Ca2+] oscillations and prevented the activation of Akt and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase-II (CaMK-II) but did not prevent activation of Smad-2 or ERK. PGE2 also eliminated TGF-β-stimulated expression of collagen A1, fibronectin, and α-smooth muscle actin and reduced stress fiber formation in the HPFs. RNA sequencing revealed that HPFs preferentially express EP2 receptors relative to other prostanoid receptor subtypes: EP2 expression is ~10-fold higher than that of EP4 receptors; EP1 and EP3 receptors are barely detectable; and EP2-receptor expression is ~3.5-fold lower in PFs from IPF patients than in normal HPFs. The inhibitory effects of PGE2 on synthetic function and stress fiber formation were blocked by selective EP2 or EP4 antagonists and mimicked by selective EP2 or EP4 agonists, the phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutylmethylxanthine and forskolin, all of which elevate cellular cAMP concentrations. We conclude that PGE2, likely predominantly via EP2 receptors, interferes with Ca2+ signaling, CaMK-II activation, and Akt activation in IPF-HPFs and HPFs treated with TGF-β. Moreover, a decreased expression of EP2 receptors in pulmonary fibroblasts from IPF patients may contribute to the pathophysiology of this disease.

G protein−coupled receptors (GPCRs) regulate facets of growth, development, and environmental sensing in eukaryotes, including filamentous fungi. The largest predicted GPCR class in these organisms is the Pth11-related, with members similar to a protein required for disease in the plant pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. However, the Pth11-related class has not been functionally studied in any filamentous fungal species. Here, we analyze phenotypes in available mutants for 36 GPCR genes, including 20 Pth11-related, in the model filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. We also investigate patterns of gene expression for all 43 predicted GPCR genes in available datasets. A total of 17 mutants (47%) possessed at least one growth or developmental phenotype. We identified 18 mutants (56%) with chemical sensitivity or nutritional phenotypes (11 uniquely), bringing the total number of mutants with at least one defect to 28 (78%), including 15 mutants (75%) in the Pth11-related class. Gene expression trends for GPCR genes correlated with the phenotypes observed for many mutants and also suggested overlapping functions for several groups of co-transcribed genes. Several members of the Pth11-related class have phenotypes and/or are differentially expressed on cellulose, suggesting a possible role for this gene family in plant cell wall sensing or utilization.

Heterotrimeric G proteins are critical regulators of growth and asexual and sexual development in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. Three G␣ subunits (GNA-1, GNA-2, and GNA-3), one G␤ subunit (GNB-1), and one G␥ subunit (GNG-1) have been functionally characterized, but genetic epistasis relationships between G␤ and G␣ subunit genes have not been determined. Physical association between GNB-1 and FLAG-tagged GNG-1 has been previously demonstrated by coimmunoprecipitation, but knowledge of the G␣ binding partners for the G␤␥ dimer is currently lacking. In this study, the three N. crassa G␣ subunits are analyzed for genetic epistasis with gnb-1 and for physical interaction with the G␤␥ dimer. We created double mutants lacking one G␣ gene and gnb-1 and introduced constitutively active, GTPase-deficient alleles for each G␣ gene into the ⌬gnb-1 background. Genetic analysis revealed that gna-3 is epistatic to gnb-1 with regard to negative control of submerged conidiation. gnb-1 is epistatic to gna-2 and gna-3 for aerial hyphal height, while gnb-1 appears to act upstream of gna-1 and gna-2 during aerial conidiation. None of the activated G␣ alleles restored female fertility to ⌬gnb-1 mutants, and the gna-3 Q208L allele inhibited formation of female reproductive structures, consistent with a need for G␣ proteins to cycle through the inactive GDP-bound form for these processes. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments using extracts from the gng-1-FLAG strain demonstrated that the three G␣ proteins interact with the G␤␥ dimer. The finding that the G␤␥ dimer interacts with all three G␣ proteins is supported by epistasis between gnb-1 and gna-1, gna-2, and gna-3 for at least one function.