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Shining a light on orphan GPCRs

An innovative method to identify ligands for orphan G protein-coupled receptors has been developed using site-specific UV-mediated crosslinking. With this approach, the neuropeptide Little-LEN was identified as an agonist for GPR50, which together regulate energy expenditure in response to metabolic state.

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Fig. 1: Schematic for identification of an endogenous ligand from a complex extract with photocrosslinking.

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Correspondence to Braden Lobingier.

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Adoff, H., Lobingier, B. Shining a light on orphan GPCRs. Nat Chem Biol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-02111-y

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