Work

Steroid Recognition in Adhesion GPCRs : A Structural and Pharmacological Perspective

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Emerging evidence suggests steroids may act as generalizable ligands for adhesion GPCRs, a receptor class with considerable pharmacological potential. While most studies have focused on the ADGR'G' subfamily, recent cryo-EM structures of the androgens 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT) and methenolone bound to ADGRD1 revealed a putative steroid-binding pocket and enabled the rational design of a selective synthetic agonist. This perspective considers the broader significance of these findings amid some debate about the reproducibility and physiological relevance of steroid binding to adhesion GPCRs, reviewing all structural evidence and presenting comparative docking and homology modeling to evaluate conserved features and the plausibility of a shared recognition mechanism.

Source: Pharmacology Research & Perspectives

DOI: 10.1002/prp2.70221

Authors: Bethany Fleming, Abdul‐Akim Guseinov, Irina G. Tikhonova, Graeme Milligan, Nicole A. Perry‐Hauser

Institutions: University of Glasgow, Queen's University Belfast

Language: English

Topic: Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,160