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Kok ZY, Stoddart LA, Mistry SJ, Mocking TAM, Vischer HF, Leurs R, Hill SJ, Mistry SN, Kellam B. Optimization of Peptide Linker-Based Fluorescent Ligands for the Histamine H 1 Receptor. J Med Chem 2022; 65:8258-8288. [PMID: 35734860 PMCID: PMC9234962 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The histamine H1 receptor (H1R) has recently been implicated in mediating cell proliferation and cancer progression; therefore, high-affinity H1R-selective fluorescent ligands are desirable tools for further investigation of this behavior in vitro and in vivo. We previously reported a H1R fluorescent ligand, bearing a peptide-linker, based on antagonist VUF13816 and sought to further explore structure-activity relationships (SARs) around the linker, orthostere, and fluorescent moieties. Here, we report a series of high-affinity H1R fluorescent ligands varying in peptide linker composition, orthosteric targeting moiety, and fluorophore. Incorporation of a boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) 630/650-based fluorophore conferred high binding affinity to our H1R fluorescent ligands, remarkably overriding the linker SAR observed in corresponding unlabeled congeners. Compound 31a, both potent and subtype-selective, enabled H1R visualization using confocal microscopy at a concentration of 10 nM. Molecular docking of 31a with the human H1R predicts that the optimized peptide linker makes interactions with key residues in the receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi Yuan Kok
- Division of Biomolecular Science and Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, U.K.,Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham, the Midlands, Nottingham NG7 2UH, U.K
| | - Leigh A Stoddart
- Division of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Medical School, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, U.K.,Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham, the Midlands, Nottingham NG7 2UH, U.K
| | - Sarah J Mistry
- Division of Biomolecular Science and Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, U.K.,Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham, the Midlands, Nottingham NG7 2UH, U.K
| | - Tamara A M Mocking
- Amsterdam Institute for Molecules, Medicines and Systems, Division of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelean 1083, 1083 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Henry F Vischer
- Amsterdam Institute for Molecules, Medicines and Systems, Division of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelean 1083, 1083 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Rob Leurs
- Amsterdam Institute for Molecules, Medicines and Systems, Division of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelean 1083, 1083 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stephen J Hill
- Division of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Medical School, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, U.K.,Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham, the Midlands, Nottingham NG7 2UH, U.K
| | - Shailesh N Mistry
- Division of Biomolecular Science and Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, U.K
| | - Barrie Kellam
- Division of Biomolecular Science and Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, U.K.,Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham, the Midlands, Nottingham NG7 2UH, U.K
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2
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Krasitskaya VV, Bashmakova EE, Frank LA. Coelenterazine-Dependent Luciferases as a Powerful Analytical Tool for Research and Biomedical Applications. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E7465. [PMID: 33050422 PMCID: PMC7590018 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21207465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
: The functioning of bioluminescent systems in most of the known marine organisms is based on the oxidation reaction of the same substrate-coelenterazine (CTZ), catalyzed by luciferase. Despite the diversity in structures and the functioning mechanisms, these enzymes can be united into a common group called CTZ-dependent luciferases. Among these, there are two sharply different types of the system organization-Ca2+-regulated photoproteins and luciferases themselves that function in accordance with the classical enzyme-substrate kinetics. Along with deep and comprehensive fundamental research on these systems, approaches and methods of their practical use as highly sensitive reporters in analytics have been developed. The research aiming at the creation of artificial luciferases and synthetic CTZ analogues with new unique properties has led to the development of new experimental analytical methods based on them. The commercial availability of many ready-to-use assay systems based on CTZ-dependent luciferases is also important when choosing them by first-time-users. The development of analytical methods based on these bioluminescent systems is currently booming. The bioluminescent systems under consideration were successfully applied in various biological research areas, which confirms them to be a powerful analytical tool. In this review, we consider the main directions, results, and achievements in research involving these luciferases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasilisa V. Krasitskaya
- Institute of Biophysics SB RAS, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS”, 660036 Krasnoyarsk, Russia; (V.V.K.); (E.E.B.)
| | - Eugenia E. Bashmakova
- Institute of Biophysics SB RAS, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS”, 660036 Krasnoyarsk, Russia; (V.V.K.); (E.E.B.)
| | - Ludmila A. Frank
- Institute of Biophysics SB RAS, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS”, 660036 Krasnoyarsk, Russia; (V.V.K.); (E.E.B.)
- School of Fundamental Biology and Biotechnology, Siberian Federal University, 660041 Krasnoyarsk, Russia
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3
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Grätz L, Tropmann K, Bresinsky M, Müller C, Bernhardt G, Pockes S. NanoBRET binding assay for histamine H 2 receptor ligands using live recombinant HEK293T cells. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13288. [PMID: 32764682 PMCID: PMC7414126 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70332-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Fluorescence/luminescence-based techniques play an increasingly important role in the development of test systems for the characterization of future drug candidates, especially in terms of receptor binding in the field of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In this article, we present the establishment of a homogeneous live cell-based BRET binding assay for the histamine H2 receptor with different fluorescently labeled squaramide-type compounds synthesized in the course of this study. Py-1-labeled ligand 8 (UR-KAT478) was found to be most suitable in BRET saturation binding experiments with respect to receptor affinity (pKd = 7.35) and signal intensity. Real-time kinetic experiments showed a full association of 8 within approximately 30 min and a slow dissociation of the ligand from the receptor. Investigation of reference compounds in BRET-based competition binding with 8 yielded pKi values in agreement with radioligand binding data. This study shows that the BRET binding assay is a versatile test system for the characterization of putative new ligands at the histamine H2 receptor and represents a valuable fluorescence-based alternative to canonical binding assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Grätz
- Institute of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Tropmann
- Institute of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Merlin Bresinsky
- Institute of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Müller
- Institute of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Günther Bernhardt
- Institute of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Pockes
- Institute of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
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4
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Dale NC, Johnstone EKM, White CW, Pfleger KDG. NanoBRET: The Bright Future of Proximity-Based Assays. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2019; 7:56. [PMID: 30972335 PMCID: PMC6443706 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) is a biophysical technique used to monitor proximity within live cells. BRET exploits the naturally occurring phenomenon of dipole-dipole energy transfer from a donor enzyme (luciferase) to an acceptor fluorophore following enzyme-mediated oxidation of a substrate. This results in production of a quantifiable signal that denotes proximity between proteins and/or molecules tagged with complementary luciferase and fluorophore partners. BRET assays have been used to observe an array of biological functions including ligand binding, intracellular signaling, receptor-receptor proximity, and receptor trafficking, however, BRET assays can theoretically be used to monitor the proximity of any protein or molecule for which appropriate fusion constructs and/or fluorophore conjugates can be produced. Over the years, new luciferases and approaches have been developed that have increased the potential applications for BRET assays. In particular, the development of the small, bright and stable Nanoluciferase (NanoLuc; Nluc) and its use in NanoBRET has vastly broadened the potential applications of BRET assays. These advances have exciting potential to produce new experimental methods to monitor protein-protein interactions (PPIs), protein-ligand interactions, and/or molecular proximity. In addition to NanoBRET, Nluc has also been exploited to produce NanoBiT technology, which further broadens the scope of BRET to monitor biological function when NanoBiT is combined with an acceptor. BRET has proved to be a powerful tool for monitoring proximity and interaction, and these recent advances further strengthen its utility for a range of applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha C Dale
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics TechnologiesAustralia
| | - Elizabeth K M Johnstone
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics TechnologiesAustralia
| | - Carl W White
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics TechnologiesAustralia
| | - Kevin D G Pfleger
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics TechnologiesAustralia.,Dimerix Limited, Nedlands, WA, Australia
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5
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Wang JH, Shao XX, Hu MJ, Liu YL, Xu ZG, Guo ZY. Functionality of an absolutely conserved glycine residue in the chimeric relaxin family peptide R3/I5. Amino Acids 2019; 51:619-626. [PMID: 30604098 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-018-02694-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/22/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The insulin superfamily is a group of homologous proteins that are further divided into the insulin family and relaxin family according to their distinct receptors. All insulin superfamily members contain three absolutely conserved disulfide linkages and a nonchiral Gly residue immediately following the first B-chain cysteine. The functionality of this conserved Gly residue in the insulin family has been studied by replacing it with natural L-amino acids or the corresponding unnatural D-amino acids. However, such analysis has not been conducted on relaxin family members. In the present study, we conducted chiral mutagenesis on the conserved B11Gly of the chimeric relaxin family peptide R3/I5, which is an efficient agonist for receptor RXFP3 and RXFP4. Similar to the effects on insulin family foldability, L-Ala or L-Ser substitution completely abolished the in vitro refolding of a recombinant R3/I5 precursor; whereas, D-Ala or D-Ser substitution had no detrimental effect on refolding of a semi-synthetic R3/I5 precursor, suggesting that the conserved Gly residue controls the foldability of relaxin family members. In contrast to the effect on insulin family activity, D-Ala or D-Ser replacement had no detrimental effect on the binding and activation potencies of the mature R3/I5 towards both RXFP3 and RXFP4, suggesting that the conserved Gly residue is irrelevant to the relaxin family's activity. The present study revealed functionality of the conserved B-chain Gly residue for a relaxin family peptide for the first time, providing an overview of its contribution to foldability and activity of the insulin superfamily.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Hui Wang
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Shao
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Meng-Jun Hu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ya-Li Liu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeng-Guang Xu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhan-Yun Guo
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
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6
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Hoare BL, Bruell S, Sethi A, Gooley PR, Lew MJ, Hossain MA, Inoue A, Scott DJ, Bathgate RAD. Multi-Component Mechanism of H2 Relaxin Binding to RXFP1 through NanoBRET Kinetic Analysis. iScience 2018; 11:93-113. [PMID: 30594862 PMCID: PMC6309025 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2018.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Revised: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The peptide hormone H2 relaxin has demonstrated promise as a therapeutic, but mimetic development has been hindered by the poorly understood relaxin receptor RXFP1 activation mechanism. H2 relaxin is hypothesized to bind to two distinct ECD sites, which reorientates the N-terminal LDLa module to activate the transmembrane domain. Here we provide evidence for this model in live cells by measuring bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) between nanoluciferase-tagged RXFP1 constructs and fluorescently labeled H2 relaxin (NanoBRET). Additionally, we validate these results using the related RXFP2 receptor and chimeras with an inserted RXFP1-binding domain utilizing NanoBRET and nuclear magnetic resonance studies on recombinant proteins. We therefore provide evidence for the multi-component molecular mechanism of H2 relaxin binding to RXFP1 on the full-length receptor in cells. Also, we show the utility of NanoBRET real-time binding kinetics to reveal subtle binding complexities, which may be overlooked in traditional equilibrium binding assays. NanoBRET was used to assess relaxin binding kinetics to its receptor RXFP1 Binding on wild-type and mutant RXFP1 demonstrated a multi-component mechanism This binding mode was validated using RXFP2/RXFP1 chimeras and protein NMR studies NanoBRET binding can reveal subtle GPCR binding modes to aid drug development
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley L Hoare
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Shoni Bruell
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Ashish Sethi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Bio21 Molecular and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Paul R Gooley
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Bio21 Molecular and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Michael J Lew
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Mohammed A Hossain
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; Department of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Asuka Inoue
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3, Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
| | - Daniel J Scott
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
| | - Ross A D Bathgate
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
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7
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White CW, Johnstone EKM, See HB, Pfleger KDG. NanoBRET ligand binding at a GPCR under endogenous promotion facilitated by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing. Cell Signal 2018; 54:27-34. [PMID: 30471466 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2018.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2018] [Revised: 11/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) is a versatile tool used to investigate membrane receptor signalling and function. We have recently developed a homogenous NanoBRET ligand binding assay to monitor interactions between G protein-coupled receptors and fluorescent ligands. However, this assay requires the exogenous expression of a receptor fused to the nanoluciferase (Nluc) and is thus not applicable to natively-expressed receptors. To overcome this limitation in HEK293 cells, we have utilised CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering to insert Nluc in-frame with the endogenous ADORA2B locus this resulted in HEK293 cells expressing adenosine A2B receptors under endogenous promotion tagged on their N-terminus with Nluc. As expected, we found relatively low levels of endogenous (gene-edited) Nluc/A2B receptor expression compared to cells transiently transfected with expression vectors coding for Nluc/A2B. However, in cells expressing gene-edited Nluc/A2B receptors we observed clear saturable ligand binding of a non-specific fluorescent adenosine receptor antagonist XAC-X-BY630 (Kd = 21.4 nM). Additionally, at gene-edited Nluc/A2B receptors we derived pharmacological parameters of ligand binding; Kd as well as Kon and Koff for binding of XAC-X-BY630 by NanoBRET association kinetic binding assays. Lastly, cells expressing gene-edited Nluc/A2B were used to determine the pKi of unlabelled adenosine receptor ligands in competition ligand binding assays. Utilising CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering here we show that NanoBRET ligand binding assays can be performed at gene-edited receptors under endogenous promotion in live cells, therefore overcoming a fundamental limitation of NanoBRET ligand assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl W White
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Australia.
| | - Elizabeth K M Johnstone
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Australia
| | - Heng B See
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Australia
| | - Kevin D G Pfleger
- Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Australia; Dimerix Limited, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
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8
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Hu MJ, Shao XX, Li HZ, Nie WH, Wang JH, Liu YL, Xu ZG, Guo ZY. Development of a novel ligand binding assay for relaxin family peptide receptor 3 and 4 using NanoLuc complementation. Amino Acids 2018; 50:1111-1119. [PMID: 29770870 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-018-2588-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 05/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Relaxin family peptides perform a variety of biological functions by binding and activating relaxin family peptide receptor 1-4 (RXFP1-4), four A-class G protein-coupled receptors. In the present work, we developed a novel ligand binding assay for RXFP3 and RXFP4 based on NanoLuc complementation technology (NanoBiT). A synthetic ligation version of the low-affinity small complementation tag (SmBiT) was efficiently ligated to the A-chain N terminus of recombinant chimeric agonist R3/I5 using recombinant circular sortase A. After the ligation product R3/I5-SmBiT was mixed with human RXFP3 or RXFP4 genetically fused with a secretory large NanoLuc fragment (sLgBiT) at the N terminus, NanoLuc complementation was induced by high-affinity ligand-receptor binding. Binding kinetics and affinities of R3/I5-SmBiT with sLgBiT-fused RXFP3 and RXFP4 were conveniently measured according to the complementation-induced bioluminescence. Using R3/I5-SmBiT and the sLgBiT-fused receptor as a complementation pair, binding potencies of various ligands with RXFP3 and RXFP4 were quantitatively measured without the cumbersome washing step. The novel NanoBiT-based ligand binding assay is convenient for use and suitable for automation, thus will facilitate interaction studies of RXFP3 and RXFP4 with ligands in future. This assay can also be applied to some other plasma membrane receptors for pharmacological characterization of ligands in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Jun Hu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Shao
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hao-Zheng Li
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei-Han Nie
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jia-Hui Wang
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ya-Li Liu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeng-Guang Xu
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhan-Yun Guo
- Research Center for Translational Medicine at East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
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9
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Stoddart LA, Kilpatrick LE, Hill SJ. NanoBRET Approaches to Study Ligand Binding to GPCRs and RTKs. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2018; 39:136-147. [PMID: 29132917 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2017.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2017] [Revised: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Recent advances in the development of fluorescent ligands for G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and receptor tyrosine kinase receptors (RTKs) have facilitated the study of these receptors in living cells. A limitation of these ligands is potential uptake into cells and increased nonspecific binding. However, this can largely be overcome by using proximity approaches, such as bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET), which localise the signal (within 10nm) to the specific receptor target. The recent engineering of NanoLuc has resulted in a luciferase variant that is smaller and significantly brighter (up to tenfold) than existing variants. Here, we review the use of BRET from N-terminal NanoLuc-tagged GPCRs or a RTK to a receptor-bound fluorescent ligand to provide quantitative pharmacology of ligand-receptor interactions in living cells in real time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leigh A Stoddart
- Division of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK; Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham, The Midlands, UK; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Laura E Kilpatrick
- Division of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK; Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham, The Midlands, UK; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Stephen J Hill
- Division of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK; Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham, The Midlands, UK.
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