Studies of the agonist-induced receptor sequestration of dopamine D2 receptor

The dopamine D2 receptor (D$_2$R) is target for antipsychotic drugs and associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders. The internalization (sequestration) of G protin-coupled receptor is caused by agonist-induced receptor phosphorylation mediated by GRK, followed by the interaction with ${\beta}$-arrestin. In this study, we examined the agonist-dependent sequestration/internalization of dopamine D$_2$R, which were transiently expressed in HEK 293 cells with of without GRK co-expression. Co-expression of GRK2 or GRK3 markedly enhanced the sequestration of D$_2$R. (omitted)