# Gq-coupled receptors raise cAMP via ADCY1 and ADCY8 in mouse hippocampal slices

- Published: 2026-11-14 17:33 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Neurotechnology
- Tags: G protein-coupled receptors, Gq-coupled receptors, cAMP signaling, adenylyl cyclase, ADCY1 and ADCY8, hippocampal slices, long-term depression, muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, metabotropic glutamate receptors, synaptic function
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-956616b8c770e552500fcb78_gq_coupled_receptors/

**Qi Ding's team found that Gq-coupled receptors, stimulated in mouse hippocampal slices, raise cAMP as well as calcium, with consequences for synaptic long-term depression.**

![Gq-coupled receptors raise cAMP via ADCY1 and ADCY8 in mouse hippocampal slices](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/a2b6e4b05647388b.jpg)
*Louisa Howard, Miguel Marin-Padilla, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

Qi Ding and colleagues studied G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) in hippocampal slices from mice and reported evidence of unconventional receptor signaling with implications for synaptic function in the brain, according to eurekalert.org [1]. The experiments were carried out on mouse brain tissue slices. Stimulation of Gq-coupled receptors raised cAMP in addition to calcium ions. [1]

## How GPCRs normally signal

When GPCRs are bound by ligands outside cells, they activate distinct signaling pathways that depend on the G proteins they couple to. [1] Receptors coupled to Gs or Gi proteins respectively stimulate or inhibit enzymes called adenylyl cyclases (ADCYs). These interactions increase or decrease the amount of the signaling molecule cAMP. [1]

Receptors coupled to Gq proteins follow a different route: they activate phospholipase enzymes to generate intracellular calcium ions (Ca2+). [1] Ding and colleagues measured how these receptors behave in brain tissue.

## Calcium-driven cAMP production

The team stimulated muscarinic acetylcholine receptors or metabotropic glutamate receptors, both of which couple to Gq proteins, in the slices. Ca2+ increased as expected, but cAMP abundance and cAMP signaling also rose. [1] The Ca2+ generated by these receptors activated the Ca2+-dependent enzymes ADCY1 and ADCY8, which produced the cAMP. [1]

In hippocampal slices from mice deficient in ADCY1 and ADCY8, stimulating Gq-coupled GPCRs did not produce cAMP signaling. [1] These slices also showed impaired long-term depression (LTD), a process in which synaptic function in neurons diminishes after repeated stimulation. [1]

The authors say the data suggest that Gq-coupled GPCRs modulate synaptic function in a cAMP-dependent manner. They describe this as evidence of crosstalk between signaling pathways that regulate neuronal function. [1]

## Sources

1. [eurekalert.org](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1150018)
2. [bioengineer.org](https://bioengineer.org/gq-coupled-receptors-trigger-unconventional-camp-signaling-in-mouse-brain-synapses)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-956616b8c770e552500fcb78_gq_coupled_receptors/