gar-2 encodes a novel, seven transmembrane-domain G protein-coupled acetylcholine receptor (AChR); when expressed in Xenopus oocytes treated with acetylcholine, GAR-2 is able to activate a mammalian G protein-activated inwardly rectifying K+ (GIRK1) channel, but not other channels, suggesting that GAR-2 couples to G proteins of the Gi family; pharmacological analyses indicate, however, that GAR-2 exhibits properties distinct from mammalian muscarinic AChRs; gar-2 is expressed from mid-embryogenesis through adulthood with expression seen in ciliated head neurons, ventral cord neurons, and the HSN (hermaphrodite-specific neuron).
Enables G protein-coupled acetylcholine receptor activity. Involved in G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway; negative regulation of cholinergic synaptic transmission; and response to xenobiotic stimulus. Located in axon. Expressed in neurons.