The Camerino symposium series (1978-2013): a privileged observatory of receptorology development.

The organizers of the Camerino Receptor Symposia survey the development of receptorology. They trace the course from the first Symposium in 1978, which laid the foundation for Pirenzepine, the first selective muscarinic antagonist, to the 2010 Symposium, which highlighted the utility of functional simple domain antibodies (nanobodies) as novel G Protein-Coupled Receptor (GPCR) modulators. This 30-year period sees the acceptance of terms such as G-protein, auto- and heteroreceptors, site-directed mutagenesis, chimeric receptors, constitutive activity, inverse agonism, and orphan receptors. GPCRs are finally a reality and Langley and Ehrlich, if they returned to their laboratories, would be proud of how their intuitions have been realized.