Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)

  • Citing the GPCRDB

    Please cite the GPCRDB using the following reference:

    GPCRDB: information system for G protein-coupled receptors. Nucleic Acids Res. 2010 Nov 2
    Vroling B, Sanders M, Baakman C, Borrmann A, Verhoeven S, Klomp J, Oliveira L, de Vlieg J, Vriend G.

  • Downloading sequences

    You can download all GPCRDB sequences using this url: (please use wget or something on the command line, your browser chokes on such a big file)
    http://www.gpcr.org/7tm/webservice/getSequencesFastaOfFamily/familyId/000

  • I would like to retrieve the regions corresponding to the helices, loops, N terminal and C terminal regions for a large set of GPCRs that I have.

    The easiest way to do this is to use the getResidues call. For each protein you'll get a list of the individual residues, and each residue object contains a secondaryStructure element. You can get a REST-preview here: http://www.gpcr.org/7tm/webservice/getResidues/proteinId/adrb2_human

  • How do I ... ?

    The usage page discusses a number of scenarios in which this resource is commonly used. If your 'How do I' question is not there, please contact us and we'll be more than willing to answer your questions.

  • I would like to give feedback. How?

    Great! Feedback is always welcome. Without knowing what our users think of things, we can't improve this resource!
    To give feedback, please send us an email. The contact page has all the info you need.

  • A lot of sequences in the multiple sequence alignments are not the complete sequences of the proteins. Why is this so?

    In the multiple sequence alignments for superfamilies (the non-leaf families in the family tree structure) we have only aligned the residues that can be aligned with confidence (more or less the helices and a few other conserved parts). Therefore, in the superfamilies alignments some residues are left out, because we do not align the loop regions since they are very diverse and very little structural information is available.

    As an example, if we look at the beta2 adrenoceptors, the alignment (this is the "leaf family" msa) does contain the complete sequences. If you go up higher in the family tree the alignments only contain the residues that can be aligned with confidence.