Regulator Of G Protein Signaling 13 (RGS13)

RGS13 is a member of the regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) family. RGS family members share similarity with S. cerevisiae SST2 and C. elegans egl-10 proteins, which contain a characteristic conserved RGS domain. RGS proteins accelerate GTPase activity of G protein alpha-subunits, thereby driving G protein into their inactive GDP-bound form, thus negatively regulating G protein signaling. RGS proteins have been implicated in the fine tuning of a variety of cellular events in response to G protein-coupled receptor activation. The 157-amino acid mouse protein shares 82% amino acid identity with the 159-amino acid human protein. Northern blot analysis of mouse tissues detected a 1.6-kb transcript in spleen, stomach, small intestine, thymus, and late-stage embryos.