Background：

G protein-coupled receptors (GPRs)， also known as seven transmembrane receptors， heptahelical receptors or 7TM receptors， comprise a superfamily of proteins that play a role in many different stimulus-response pathways. GPR signaling is an evolutionarily ancient mechanism used by all eukaryotes to sense environmental stimuli and mediate cell-cell communication. G protein-coupled receptors translate extracellular signals into intracellular signals (G protein activation) and they respond to a variety of signaling molecules， such as hormones and neurotransmitters. The gene encoding GPR160 maps to human chromosome 3， which houses over 1，100 genes， including a chemokine receptor (CKR) gene cluster and a variety of human cancer-related gene loci. GPR160 expression has been shown to be up-regulated in prostate cancer.