Live Cell Imaging Of GPCR Dependent Second-Messenger Systems

By Paul Held Ph. D. and Peter Banks, Ph. D., BioTek Instruments, Inc. and Paul Tewson, Anne Marie Quinn and Thom Hughes, Montana Molecular

A significant proportion of academic and drug discovery research is devoted towards the elucidation of second messenger signaling cascades resulting from interactions between G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) and their ligands. Because cell signaling involves the interaction of multiple second messenger pathways, multiplex sensors capable of simultaneously detecting different components of these pathways are of particular benefit in advancing biomedical research. Here we describe the use of the Cytation 3, a highly cost-effective combination cell imager and microplate reader, to rapidly image and analyze genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors to a number of GPCR related second messengers.