Molecular Brightness analysis of GPCR oligomerization in the presence of spatial heterogeneity

Abstract

Measuring the oligomerization of plasma membrane proteins is rife with biophysical and biomedical implications. This is particularly true for GPCRs, a large family of proteins representing the targets of over one third of all FDA approved medications. Over the last thirty years, fluorescence microscopy has been the leading approach to address this problem. However, in spite of a large number of studies and approaches, for most GPCRs the results have remained highly contentious, possibly due to the large spectrum of specific methods employed.