Christoph Schreiter | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

Reversible sequential-binding probe receptor-ligand interactions in single cells.

With the reversible sequential (ReSeq) binding assay,we present a novel approach for the ultrasensitive profiling of receptor function in single living cells. This assay is based on the repetitive application of fluorescent ligands that have fast association-dissociation kinetics. We chose the nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) as a prototypical example and performed ReSeq equilibrium, kinetic, and competition-binding assays using fluorescent derivatives of the antagonist alpha-conotoxin GI (alpha-CnTx). Thereby, we determined the binding constants of unlabeled alpha-CnTx and d-tubocurarine. The high selectivity of alpha-CnTx for muscle-type nAChR made it possible to observe specific binding even in the presence of other nAChR subtypes. Imaging of individual nAChRs and ligand-binding cycles to single cells in microfluidic devices demonstrated the ultimate miniaturization and accuracy of ReSeq-binding assays even at low receptor-expression levels. We expect our approach to be of generic importance for functional screening of compounds or membrane receptors, and for the detailed characterization of rare primary cells.

Binding, Competitive↗

PubMed2003

Characterization of the ligand-binding site of the serotonin 5-HT3 receptor: the role of glutamate residues 97, 224, AND 235.

Ligand-gated ion channels of the Cys loop family are receptors for small amine-containing neurotransmitters. Charged amino acids are strongly conserved in the ligand-binding domain of these receptor proteins. To investigate the role of particular residues in ligand binding of the serotonin 5-HT3AS receptor (5-HT3R), glutamate amino acid residues at three different positions, Glu97, Glu224, and Glu235, in the extracellular N-terminal domain were substituted with aspartate and glutamine using site-directed mutagenesis. Wild type and mutant receptor proteins were expressed in HEK293 cells and analyzed by electrophysiology, radioligand binding, fluorescence measurements, and immunochemistry. A structural model of the ligand-binding domain of the 5-HT3R based on the acetylcholine binding protein revealed the position of the mutated amino acids. Our results demonstrate that mutations of Glu97, distant from the ligand-binding site, had little effect on the receptor, whereas mutations Glu224 and Glu235, close to the predicted binding site, are indeed important for ligand binding. Mutations E224Q, E224D, and E235Q decreased EC50 and Kd values 5-20-fold, whereas E235D was functionally expressed at a low level and had a more than 100-fold increased EC50 value. Comparison of the fluorescence properties of a fluorescein-labeled antagonist upon binding to wild type 5-HT3R and E235Q, allowed us to localize Glu235 within a distance of 1 nm around the ligand-binding site, as proposed by our model.

Amino Acid Sequence↗