[6] Molecular approaches to identifying ligand binding and signaling domains of C-C chemokine receptors

The construction of chimeric receptors provides a useful starting point for the identification of ligand-binding and G-protein-coupling sites on chemokine receptors. Correlation of the binding and signaling properties of a set of complementary receptor chimeras is a powerful approach for probing structure-function relationships. Further molecular resolution can subsequently be achieved by site-directed mutagenesis and/or alanine scanning.