Molecular pharmacology of G protein-coupled receptors. Editorial

G protein-coupled receptors are the largest group of membrane proteins and are the targets for approximately 30% of drugs currently used therapeutically. These 7-transmembrane-spanning proteins continue to provide new opportunities to develop therapeutics based on emerging knowledge of their structure, signalling properties and interactions with other proteins. This themed issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology contains a series of papers that cover these issues and identify approaches that may determine future directions. Many of these papers contain material that was presented at the 5th International Molecular Pharmacology of G Protein-Coupled Receptors meeting held in Sydney Australia in late 2008.