G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of proteins involved in transmembrane signal transduction and are actively studied because of their suitability as therapeutic small-molecule drug targets. Agonist activation of GPCRs almost invariably results in the receptor being desensitized. One of the key events in receptor desensitization is the sequestration of the receptor from the cell surface into acidic intracellular endosomes. Therefore, a convenient, generic, and noninvasive monitor of this process is desirable. A novel, pH-sensitive, red-excited fluorescent dye, CypHer 5, was synthesized. This dye is non-fluorescent at neutral pH and is fluorescent at acidic pH. Anti-epitope antibodies labeled with this dye were internalized in an agonist concentration- and time-dependent manner, following binding on live cells to a range of GPCRs that had been modified to incorporate the epitope tags in their extracellular N-terminal domain. This resulted in a large signal increase over background. When protonated, the red fluorescence of CypHer 5 provides a generic reagent suitable for monitoring the internalization of GPCRs into acidic vesicles. This approach should be amenable to the study of many other classes of cell surface receptors that also internalize following stimulation.
GPCRs are one of the most popular classes of therapeutic drug targets. It is therefore important to design specific assay formats to readily identify ligands at these receptors. CypHer 5 technology utilizes the general ability of GPCRs to be internalized into the endosomal pathway of a cell in response to agonist ligands. The CypHer 5 dye is fluorescent in acidic environments, but nonfluorescent at neutral pH. When CypHer 5 is bound to a receptor on the extracellular surface of the cell, it is essentially nonfluorescent. On internalization into a cell, it displays a significant increase in fluorescence. Here we demonstrate the detection of agonist activation of two GPCRs in stably transfected live cells using CypHer 5 technology. The G(q)-coupled TRHR-1 and the G(s)-coupled beta(2)-adrenoceptor were both N-terminally tagged with VSV-G. Following addition of CypHer 5-labeled anti-VSV-G antibodies to HEK 293 cells stably expressing the beta(2)-adrenoceptor or CHO-K1 cells stably expressing the TRHR-1, the cells were treated with agonists and then imaged on Amersham Biosciences' IN Cell Analyzer 3000. Data were quantified using a granularity analysis module. Concentration-response curves were obtained with signal-to-background ratios of 7:1 for both receptors. An EC(50) of 0.52 nM was observed on TRH stimulation of the TRHR-1, and an EC(50) of 30 nM was obtained on isoprenaline stimulation of the beta(2)-adrenoceptor. These results demonstrated that the CypHer technology was capable of measuring high-potency agonist responses. The beta(2)-adrenoceptor antagonist, alprenolol, competed for isoprenaline with an IC(50) of 30 nM, indicating that a high-potency antagonist inhibition curve could also be observed using CypHer. CypHer 5 provides a generic tool to measure GPCR activation in a live cell, homogeneous assay format, and may be equally suitable for detecting activation of other classes of cell surface receptors.
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