Cisbio Bioassays has brought out Tag-lite, a cellular platform for cell-surface receptor study and screening.
Tag-lite is a homogeneous, non-radioactive and cost-effective alternative for studying cell-surface receptor dimerization and ligand binding, two important investigation avenues in drug-discovery research.
Tag-lite combines two technologies: HTRF, a highly sensitive technology from Cisbio that detects molecular interactions in vitro; and Snap-tag, Covalys Biosciences' self-labelling protein tag system.
Tag-lite, which is streamlined for highly selective assays, offers a comprehensive reagent and method selection for investigating G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) binding and mechanistics.
It also preserves the functionality of the receptor and the intracellular signalling pathway.
Tag-lite is a non-radioactive cell-based platform that can be used in binding, dimerization and different assays, all while eliminating the high costs associated with radioactive waste and related materials.
Dr Jean-Philippe Pin, head of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology at IGF, the research institute in Montpellier, France, said: 'Tag-lite allowed us to further investigate how receptor dimerization and activation are linked.
'When we observed conformational changes in subunits of a receptor dimer following agonist binding, we found that the G-protein's interaction with the receptor dimer led to an asymmetric functioning of this dimer.' The study of ligand binding and dimerization is an important part of drug-discovery research.
Both phenomena involve specific interactions between proteins and molecules, processes that determine the pharmacology of GPCRs.
GPCRs are transmembrane receptors that transmit signals from the outside to the inside of a cell and are involved in all aspects of human physiology.
A better understanding of the pharmacology can help lead to the discovery of more selective drug treatments.
Ligand binding study, in particular, has traditionally been a research area that relies on radioactive methods.
Like radioactivity, the Tag-lite labelling concept does not impair ligand binding capability and therefore provides the same pharmacological relevance as reference methods.
The Tag-lite toolbox comprises a series of ready-to-use reagents and will also be offered as part of Cisbio Bioassays' custom-labelled ligand and custom plasmid, cell line and assay-design services to customers through its worldwide sales network.
