The active role of βγ in signal transduction

Many receptors that sense the environment effect intracellular regulation through stimulation of heterotrimeric G proteins and the consequences thereof. While prominence was originally given to the α-subunits of G proteins as the pathway for downstream regulation, very active roles for the βγ-subunits have emerged in the past year. Recent experiments highlight the versatility of βγ-subunits in these regulatory pathways, but also emphasize some fundamental questions that remain.