The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2019/20 is the fourth in this series of biennial publications. The Concise Guide provides concise overviews of the key properties of nearly 1800 human drug targets with an emphasis on selective pharmacology (where available), plus links to the open access knowledgebase source of drug targets and their ligands (http://www.guidetopharmacology.org/), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. Although the Concise Guide represents approximately 400 pages, the material presented is substantially reduced compared to information and links presented on the website. It provides a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record that will survive database updates. The full contents of this section can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.14748. G protein‐coupled receptors are one of the six major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being: ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors, enzymes and transporters. These are presented with nomenclature guidance and summary information on the best available pharmacological tools, alongside key references and suggestions for further reading. The landscape format of the Concise Guide is designed to facilitate comparison of related targets from material contemporary to mid‐2019, and supersedes data presented in the 2017/18, 2015/16 and 2013/14 Concise Guides and previous Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology Committee on Receptor Nomenclature and Drug Classification (NC‐IUPHAR), therefore, providing official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where appropriate.

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These results demonstrate that: (i) VSMCs express a functional CaR; (ii) a reduction in CaR expression is associated with increased mineralization in vivo and in vitro; (iii) calcimimetics decrease mineral deposition by VSMC. These data suggest that calcimimetics may inhibit the development of VC in CKD patients.

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Extracellular calcium/polyvalent cation-sensing receptors (CaR) couple to G proteins and contain highly conserved extracellular cysteine residues. Immunoblotting of proteins from rat kidney inner medullary collecting duct endosomes with CaR-specific antibodies reveals alterations in the apparent molecular mass of CaR depending on protein denaturation conditions. When denatured by SDS under nonreducing conditions, CaR migrates as a putative dimeric species of 240 -310 kDa. This is twice the predicted molecular mass of the CaR monomer observed after SDS denaturation in the presence of sulfhydryl-reducing agents. In sucrose density gradients, Triton X-100-solubilized