Contributions of fluorescence techniques to understanding G protein-coupled receptor dimerisation

Alan D. Goddard, Anthony Watts*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest class of eukaryotic cell-surface receptors and, over the last decade, it has become clear that they are capable of dimerisation. Whilst many biochemical and biophysical approaches have been used to study dimerisation, fluorescence techniques, including Förster resonance energy transfer and single molecule fluorescence, have been key players. Here we review recent contributions of fluorescence techniques to investigate GPCR dimers, including dimerisation in cell membranes and native tissues, the effect of ligand binding on dimerisation and the kinetics of dimer formation and dissociation. The challenges of studying multicomponent membrane protein systems have led to the development and refinement of many fluorescence assays, allowing the functional consequences of receptor dimerisation to be investigated and individual protein molecules to be imaged in the membranes of living cells. It is likely that the fluorescence techniques described here will be of use for investigating many other multicomponent membrane protein systems.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)291-298
Number of pages8
JournalBiophysical Reviews
Volume4
Issue number4
Early online date12 Apr 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2012

Keywords

  • dimer
  • fluorescence
  • FRET
  • G protein-coupled receptor
  • oligomerisation
  • single molecule fluorescence

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