Development of a Rapid Insulin Assay by Homogenous Time-Resolved Fluorescence.

Direct measurement of insulin is critical for basic and clinical studies of insulin secretion. However, current methods are expensive and time-consuming. We developed an insulin assay based on homogenous time-resolved fluorescence that is significantly more rapid and cost-effective than current commonly used approaches. This assay was applied effectively to an insulin secreting cell line, INS-1E cells, as well as pancreatic islets, allowing us to validate the assay by elucidating mechanisms by which dopamine regulates insulin release. We found that dopamine functioned as a significant negative modulator of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Further, we showed that bromocriptine, a known dopamine D2/D3 receptor agonist and newly approved drug used for treatment of type II diabetes mellitus, also decreased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in islets to levels comparable to those caused by dopamine treatment.

The oligomeric state sets GABA(B) receptor signalling efficacy.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have key roles in cell-cell communication. Recent data suggest that these receptors can form large complexes, a possibility expected to expand the complexity of this regulatory system. Among the brain GPCRs, the heterodimeric GABA(B) receptor is one of the most abundant, being distributed in most brain regions, on either pre- or post-synaptic elements. Here, using specific antibodies labelled with time-resolved FRET compatible fluorophores, we provide evidence that the heterodimeric GABA(B) receptor can form higher-ordered oligomers in the brain, as suggested by the close proximity of the GABA(B1) subunits. Destabilizing the oligomers using a competitor or a GABA(B1) mutant revealed different G protein coupling efficiencies depending on the oligomeric state of the receptor. By examining, in heterologous system, the G protein coupling properties of such GABA(B) receptor oligomers composed of a wild-type and a non-functional mutant heterodimer, we provide evidence for a negative functional cooperativity between the GABA(B) heterodimers.

Investigation of prolactin receptor activation and blockade using time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer.

The prolactin receptor (PRLR) is emerging as a therapeutic target in oncology. Knowledge-based drug design led to the development of a pure PRLR antagonist (Del1-9-G129R-hPRL) that was recently shown to prevent PRL-induced mouse prostate tumorogenesis. In humans, the first gain-of-function mutation of the PRLR (PRLR(I146L)) was recently identified in breast tumor patients. At the molecular level, the actual mechanism of action of these two novel players in the PRL system remains elusive. In this study, we addressed whether constitutive PRLR activation (PRLR(I146L)) or PRLR blockade (antagonist) involved alteration of receptor oligomerization and/or of inter-chain distances compared to unstimulated and PRL-stimulated PRLR. Using a combination of various biochemical and spectroscopic approaches (co-IP, blue native electrophoresis, BRET(1)), we demonstrated that preformed PRLR homodimers are altered neither by PRL- or I146L-induced receptor triggering, nor by antagonist-mediated blockade. These findings were confirmed using a novel time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) technology that allows monitoring distance changes between cell surface tagged receptors. This technology revealed that PRLR blockade or activation did not involve detectable distance changes between extracellular domains of receptor chains within the dimer. This study merges with our previous structural investigations suggesting that the mechanism of PRLR activation solely involves intermolecular contact adaptations leading to subtle intramolecular rearrangements.

A fluorescent ligand-binding alternative using Tag-lite® technology.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are crucial cell surface receptors that transmit signals from a wide range of extracellular ligands. Indeed, 40% to 50% of all marketed drugs are thought to modulate GPCR activity, making them the major class of targets in the drug discovery process. Binding assays are widely used to identify high-affinity, selective, and potent GPCR drugs. In this field, the use of radiolabeled ligands has remained so far the gold-standard method. Here the authors report a less hazardous alternative for high-throughput screening (HTS) applications by the setup of a nonradioactive fluorescence-based technology named Tag-lite(®). Selective binding of various fluorescent ligands, either peptidic or not, covering a large panel of GPCRs from different classes is illustrated, particularly for chemokine (CXCR4), opioid (δ, µ, and κ), and cholecystokinin (CCK1 and CCK2) receptors. Affinity constants of well-known pharmacological agents of numerous GPCRs are in line with values published in the literature. The authors clearly demonstrate that the Tag-lite binding assay format can be successfully and reproducibly applied by using different cellular materials such as transient or stable recombinant cells lines expressing SNAP-tagged GPCR. Such fluorescent-based binding assays can be performed with adherent cells or cells in suspension, in 96- or 384-well plates. Altogether, this new technology offers great advantages in terms of flexibility, rapidity, and user-friendliness; allows easy miniaturization; and makes it completely suitable for HTS applications.