In this review, we report NMR studies of ligand-GPCR interactions, including both ligand-observed and protein-observed NMR experiments. Published studies exemplify how NMR can be used as a powerful tool to design novel GPCR ligands and investigate the ligand-induced conformational changes of GPCRs. The strength of NMR also lies in its capability to explore the diverse signaling pathways and probe the allosteric modulation of these highly dynamic receptors. By offering unique opportunities for the identification, structural and functional characterization of GPCR ligands, NMR will likely play a major role for the generation of novel molecules both as new tools for the understanding of the GPCR function and as therapeutic compounds for a large diversity of pathologies.
Keywords: 19F–NMR; GPCR; NMR; NOESY; STD; ligand.