Analysis of Receptor-Protein Interactions

Creative Bioarray focuses on helping clients analyze the interactions between ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs) and proteins, mainly proteins that affect signal transduction, metabolism, and trafficking. Our specialized scientific services will accelerate your understanding of the cell biology of LGICs and further discover new therapeutic targets for neuropsychiatric diseases.

Introduction

LGICs are oligomeric protein assemblies that can transduce chemical signals into charge flux across the membrane and thus play an important role in intercellular communication in the nervous system. A large number of studies have reported that LGICs in neuronal membranes interact with a variety of proteins through their cytoplasmic domains, which is the basis for regulating the function of ion channels. Various intracellular proteins are cross-linked with different types of LGICs to influence the number and location of subunits in the assembly channel, trafficking, and targeting of receptors, as well as turnover and stability in signaling pathways of receptors.

These molecular interaction networks allow neurons to perform complex signal processing. In addition, these specific interactions connect channels with the cytoskeleton and intracellular signal transduction pathways, and play important roles in cytoskeleton anchoring, subcellular targeting, and localized aggregation of receptors at specific sites. A detailed analysis of the interaction between LGICs and intracellular proteins is expected to reveal the function, regulation, and cell biology of LGICs, and provide further hope for understanding the pathology of the nervous system.

Fig. 1 Identification and characterization of GluR2/GAPDH interaction. (Wang, 2012)

Our Services

We have a variety of well-established molecular biology and cell biology methods, such as co-immunoprecipitation, western blot, protein affinity purification, and in vitro binding to help our clients analyze the interaction of ion channels with other proteins. Our services include but not limited to:

• Interaction analysis of LGICs and G protein-coupled receptors, such as GABA_A and dopamine D5 receptors, NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) and dopamine D1 receptors, and AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) and dopamine D2 receptors.
• Interaction analysis of LGICs and intracellular proteins, such as GABAA receptor and GABARAP, GODZ, and Plic1, AMPA receptor and GAPDH (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase), and NMDA and PSD95 (post-synaptic density 95) protein.
• Interaction analysis of LGICs and other ion channels, such as α7nAChR (α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors) and NMDA receptors.
• Identification of the cytoskeletal and signaling proteins that interact with LGICs, and analyze the interaction of neuronal postsynaptic ionotropic receptors such as NMDA, AMPA, glycine, and GABA receptors with these proteins.

Applications

In recent years, we have helped clients obtain a lot of information in the field of receptor-protein interactions, which can be applied to the following research:

• Study on the pathology of the nervous system.
• Research on the functional significance of receptor-protein interactions in channel regulation, synapse development, and synaptic plasticity.
• Discovery of novel treatment targets for neuropsychiatric disease.

Creative Bioarray is committed to providing clients with professional receptor-protein interaction analysis, including the interaction between LGICs and G-protein coupled receptors, intracellular proteins, and other ion channels. If you are interested in our services, please contact us for more details.

Reference

1. Wang, M.; et al. Direct interaction between GluR2 and GAPDH regulates AMPAR-mediated excitotoxicity. Molecular brain, 2012, 5(1): 1-12.