Regulator Of G Protein Signaling 16 (RGS16)

RGS16 belongs to the 'regulator of G protein signaling' family. It inhibits signal transduction by increasing the GTPase activity of G protein alpha subunits. It also may play a role in regulating the kinetics of signaling in the phototransduction cascade.Northern blot analysis showed that RGS16 is widely expressed as an approximately 2.4-kb mRNA and that its expression is induced by mitogenic signals. Overexpression of RGS16 inhibits G protein-coupled mitogenic signal transduction and activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade.mouse Rgs16 enhances the rate of GTP-hydrolysis by transducin, suggesting that Rgs16 may play a role in regulating the kinetics of signaling in the phototransduction cascade. The mouse and rat Rgs16 proteins have 94% amino acid sequence identity.