Shining a light on GPCR complexes.

The G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling pathways mediating information exchange across the cell membrane are central to a variety of biological processes and therapeutic strategies, but visualizing the molecular-level details of this exchange has been difficult for all but a few GPCR-G protein complexes. A study by Gao now reports new strategies and tools to obtain receptor complexes in a near-native state, revealing insights into the gross conformational features of rhodopsin-transducin interactions and setting the stage for future studies.