G Protein Coupled Receptor 19 (GPR19)

O'Dowd et al. (1996) cloned a cDNA encoding a G protein-coupled receptor that they designated GPR19. Sequence analysis revealed that the predicted 415-amino acid GPR19 contains the 7 transmembrane domains characteristic of GPCRs. It is most closely related to members of the D2 dopamine receptor family and the neuropeptide Y receptors.

GPR19 is an intronless gene. O'Dowd et al. (1996) also isolated genomic clones of the rat GPR19 homolog. By Northern blot analysis, O'Dowd et al. (1996) determined that GPR19 is expressed as a 1.5-kb mRNA in human caudate nucleus, putamen, and thalamus, and as a 1.7-kb mRNA in rat brain and peripheral tissues. In situ hybridization to rat brain sections revealed that GPR19 mRNA is expressed in a pattern similar to that of the D2 receptor genes.