Lateral access mechanism of LPA receptor probed by molecular dynamics simulation.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) are a family of membrane receptors that play important roles in the regulation of various physiological phenomena. LPA receptors (LPA1-6) are members of the class A GPCRs, which transduce a lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signal across the cell membrane and evoke various responses, including cellular survival, proliferation, differentiation, and migration. The crystal structure of LPA6 revealed a gap between its transmembrane helices (TMs), which is opened toward the membrane side.