Crosstalk Coregulation Mechanisms of G Protein- Coupled Receptors and Receptor Tyrosine Kinases

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are transmembrane receptors that initiate intracellular signaling cascades in response to a diverse array of ligands. Recent studies have shown that signal transduction initiated by GPCRs and RTKs is not organized in distinct signaling cassettes where receptor activation leads to cell division and gene transcription in a linear manner. In fact, signal integration and diversification arises from a complex network involving crosscommunication between separate signaling units. Several different styles of crosstalk between GPCR- and RTKinitiated pathways exist, with GPCRs or components of GPCR-induced pathways being either upstream or downstream of RTKs. Activation of GPCRs sometimes results in a phenomenon known as “transactivation” of RTKs, which leads to the recruitment of scaffold proteins, such as Shc, Grb2, and Sos in addition to mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. In other cases, RTKs use different components of GPCR-mediated signaling, such as �-arrestin, G protein-receptor kinases, and regulator of G protein signaling to integrate signaling pathways. This chapter outlines some of the more common mechanisms used by both GPCRs and RTKs to initiate intracellular crosstalk, thereby creating a complex signaling network that is important to normal development.