Profiling of basal and ligand-dependent GPCR activities by means of a polyvalent cell-based high-throughput platform

Nat Commun. 2023 Jul 5;14(1):3684. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39132-x.

Abstract

Representing the most attractive and successful druggable receptors of the proteome, GPCRs regulate a myriad of physiological and pathophysiological functions. Although over half of present pharmaceuticals target GPCRs, the advancement of drug discovery is hampered by a lack of adequate screening tools, the majority of which are limited to probing agonist-induced G-protein and β-arrestin-2-mediated events as a measure of receptor activation. Here, we develop Tango-Trio, a comprehensive cell-based high-throughput platform comprising cumate-inducible expression of transducers, capable of the parallelized profiling of both basal and agonist-dependent GPCR activities. We capture the functional diversity of GPCRs, reporting β-arrestin-1/2 couplings, selectivities, and receptor internalization signatures across the GPCRome. Moreover, we present the construction of cumate-induced basal activation curves at approximately 200 receptors, including over 50 orphans. Overall, Tango-Trio's robustness is well-suited for the functional characterization and screening of GPCRs, especially for parallel interrogation, and is a valuable addition to the pharmacological toolbox.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Drug Discovery
  • Ligands
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled* / genetics
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled* / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction*
  • beta-Arrestin 2 / metabolism
  • beta-Arrestins / metabolism

Substances

  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • Ligands
  • beta-Arrestin 2
  • beta-Arrestins

Associated data

  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.22802948

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