Label-free detection of small-molecule binding to a GPCR in the membrane environment.

Evaluation of drug-target interaction kinetics is becoming increasingly important during the drug-discovery process to investigate selectivity of a drug and predict in vivo target occupancy. To date, it remains challenging to obtain kinetic information for interactions between G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and small-molecule ligands in a label-free manner. Often GPCRs need to be solubilized or even stabilized by mutations which can be difficult and is time consuming. In addition, it is often unclear if the native conformation of the receptors is sustained. In this study, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and surface acoustic wave (SAW) technologies have been used to detect ligand binding to the GPCR chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 4 (CXCR4) expressed in lipoparticles. We first evaluated different strategies to immobilize CXCR4-expressing lipoparticles. The highest small-molecule binding signal in SPR and SAW was achieved with a matrix-free carboxymethylated sensor chip coated with wheat germ agglutinin for lipoparticle capturing. Next, the binding kinetics of the anti-CXCR4 antibody 12G5 raised against a conformational epitope (k(on)=1.83×10(6)M(-1)s(-1), k(off)=2.79×10(-4) s(-1)) and the small molecule AMD3100 (k(on)=5.46×10(5)M(-1)s(-1), k(off)=1.01×10(-2)s(-1)) were assessed by SAW. Our kinetic and affinity data are consistent with previously published radioligand-binding experiments using cells and label-free experiments with solubilized CXCR4. This is the first study demonstrating label-free kinetic characterization of small-molecule binding to a GPCR in the membrane environment. The presented method holds the potential to greatly facilitate label-free assay development for GPRCs that can be expressed at high levels in lipoparticles.

The Vasopressin 1b Receptor Antagonist A-988315 Blocks Stress Effects on the Retrieval of Object-Recognition Memory.

Stress-induced activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and high circulating glucocorticoid levels are well known to impair the retrieval of memory. Vasopressin can activate the HPA axis by stimulating vasopressin 1b (V1b) receptors located on the pituitary. In the present study, we investigated the effect of A-988315, a selective and highly potent non-peptidergic V1b-receptor antagonist with good pharmacokinetic properties, in blocking stress effects on HPA-axis activity and memory retrieval. To study cognitive performance, male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained on an object-discrimination task during which they could freely explore two identical objects. Memory for the objects and their location was tested 24 h later. A-988315 (20 or 60 mg/kg) or water was administered orally 90 min before retention testing, followed 60 min later by stress of footshock exposure. A-988315 dose-dependently dampened stress-induced increases in corticosterone plasma levels, but did not significantly alter HPA-axis activity of non-stressed control rats. Most importantly, A-988315 administration prevented stress-induced impairment of memory retrieval on both the object-recognition and the object-location tasks. A-988315 did not alter the retention of non-stressed rats and did not influence the total time spent exploring the objects or experimental context in either stressed or non-stressed rats. Thus, these findings indicate that direct antagonism of V1b receptors is an effective treatment to block stress-induced activation of the HPA axis and the consequent impairment of retrieval of different aspects of recognition memory.