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Mechano-sensitivity of β2-adrenoceptors enhances constitutive activation of cAMP generation that is inhibited by inverse agonists (2024)
Journal Article
Cullum, S. A., Platt, S., Dale, N., Isaac, O. C., Wragg, E. S., Soave, M., …Hill, S. J. (2024). Mechano-sensitivity of β2-adrenoceptors enhances constitutive activation of cAMP generation that is inhibited by inverse agonists. Communications Biology, 7(1), Article 417. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06128-2

The concept of agonist-independent signalling that can be attenuated by inverse agonists is a fundamental element of the cubic ternary complex model of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) activation. This model shows how a GPCR can exist in two conform... Read More about Mechano-sensitivity of β2-adrenoceptors enhances constitutive activation of cAMP generation that is inhibited by inverse agonists.

CXCL17 is an allosteric inhibitor of CXCR4 through a mechanism of action involving glycosaminoglycans (2024)
Journal Article
White, C. W., Platt, S., Kilpatrick, L. E., Dale, N., Abhayawardana, R. S., Dekkers, S., …Hill, S. J. (2024). CXCL17 is an allosteric inhibitor of CXCR4 through a mechanism of action involving glycosaminoglycans. Science Signaling, 17(828), Article abl3758. https://doi.org/10.1126/scisignal.abl3758

CXCL17 is a chemokine principally expressed by mucosal tissues, where it facilitates chemotaxis of monocytes, dendritic cells, and macrophages and has antimicrobial properties. CXCL17 is also implicated in the pathology of inflammatory disorders and... Read More about CXCL17 is an allosteric inhibitor of CXCR4 through a mechanism of action involving glycosaminoglycans.

Role of endothelin ETA receptors in the hypertension induced by the VEGFR-2 kinase inhibitors axitinib and lenvatinib in conscious freely-moving rats (2023)
Journal Article
Pannucci, P., Van Daele, M., Cooper, S. L., Wragg, E. S., March, J., Groenen, M., …Woolard, J. (2023). Role of endothelin ETA receptors in the hypertension induced by the VEGFR-2 kinase inhibitors axitinib and lenvatinib in conscious freely-moving rats. Biochemical Pharmacology, Article 116007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2023.116007

Receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (RTKIs) suppress tumour growth by targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) which is an important mediator of angiogenesis. Here, we demonstrate that two potent RTKIs, axitinib and lenvatini... Read More about Role of endothelin ETA receptors in the hypertension induced by the VEGFR-2 kinase inhibitors axitinib and lenvatinib in conscious freely-moving rats.

Small Molecule Fluorescent Ligands for the Atypical Chemokine Receptor 3 (ACKR3) (2023)
Journal Article
Dekkers, S., Comez, D., Karsai, N., Arimont-Segura, M., Canals, M., Caspar, B., …Stocks, M. J. (2023). Small Molecule Fluorescent Ligands for the Atypical Chemokine Receptor 3 (ACKR3). ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 15(1), 143–148. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmedchemlett.3c00469

The atypical chemokine receptor 3 (ACKR3) is a receptor that induces cancer progression and metastasis in multiple cell types. Therefore, new chemical tools are required to study the role of ACKR3 in cancer and other diseases. In this study, fluoresc... Read More about Small Molecule Fluorescent Ligands for the Atypical Chemokine Receptor 3 (ACKR3).

Kinetic analysis of fluorescent ligand binding to cell surface receptors: Insights into conformational changes and allosterism in living cells (2023)
Journal Article
Hill, S. J., & Kilpatrick, L. E. (2023). Kinetic analysis of fluorescent ligand binding to cell surface receptors: Insights into conformational changes and allosterism in living cells. British Journal of Pharmacology, https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.16185

Equilibrium binding assays are one of the mainstays of current drug discovery efforts to evaluate the interaction of drugs with receptors in membranes and intact cells. However, in recent years, there has been increased focus on the kinetics of the d... Read More about Kinetic analysis of fluorescent ligand binding to cell surface receptors: Insights into conformational changes and allosterism in living cells.

Characterisation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor-receptor interactions at VEGFR2 using sunitinib-red and nanoBRET (2023)
Journal Article
Van Daele, M., Kilpatrick, L. E., Woolard, J., & Hill, S. J. (2023). Characterisation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor-receptor interactions at VEGFR2 using sunitinib-red and nanoBRET. Biochemical Pharmacology, 214, Article 115672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2023.115672

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important mediator of angiogenesis, proliferation and migration of vascular endothelial cells. It is well known that cardiovascular safety liability for a wide range of small molecule tyrosine kinase in... Read More about Characterisation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor-receptor interactions at VEGFR2 using sunitinib-red and nanoBRET.

Probing expression of E-selectin using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated tagging with HiBiT in human endothelial cells (2023)
Journal Article
Ogrodzinski, L., Platt, S., Goulding, J., Alexander, C., Farr, T. D., Woolard, J., …Kilpatrick, L. E. (2023). Probing expression of E-selectin using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated tagging with HiBiT in human endothelial cells. iScience, 26(7), Article 107232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107232

E-selectin is expressed on endothelial cells in response to inflammatory cytokines and mediates leukocyte rolling and extravasation. However, studies have been hampered by lack of experimental approaches to monitor expression in real time in living c... Read More about Probing expression of E-selectin using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated tagging with HiBiT in human endothelial cells.

Characterisation of IL-23 receptor antagonists and disease relevant mutants using fluorescent probes (2023)
Journal Article
Lay, C. S., Isidro-Llobet, A., Kilpatrick, L. E., Craggs, P. D., & Hill, S. J. (2023). Characterisation of IL-23 receptor antagonists and disease relevant mutants using fluorescent probes. Nature Communications, 14, Article 2882. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38541-2

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the IL-23 receptor with several auto-inflammatory diseases, led to the heterodimeric receptor and its cytokine-ligand IL-23, becoming important drug targets. Successful antibody-based therapies direct... Read More about Characterisation of IL-23 receptor antagonists and disease relevant mutants using fluorescent probes.

Plasma membrane preassociation drives β-arrestin coupling to receptors and activation (2023)
Journal Article
Grimes, J., Koszegi, Z., Lanoiselée, Y., Miljus, T., O’Brien, S. L., Stepniewski, T. M., …Calebiro, D. (2023). Plasma membrane preassociation drives β-arrestin coupling to receptors and activation. Cell, 186(10), 2238-2255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.04.018

β-arrestin plays a key role in G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling and desensitization. Despite recent structural advances, the mechanisms that govern receptor-β-arrestin interactions at the plasma membrane of living cells remain elusive. Her... Read More about Plasma membrane preassociation drives β-arrestin coupling to receptors and activation.

Small-Molecule Fluorescent Ligands for the CXCR4 Chemokine Receptor (2023)
Journal Article
Dekkers, S., Caspar, B., Goulding, J., Kindon, N. D., Kilpatrick, L. E., Stoddart, L. A., …Stocks, M. J. (2023). Small-Molecule Fluorescent Ligands for the CXCR4 Chemokine Receptor. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 66(7), 5208-5222. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00151

The C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4, or CXCR4, is a chemokine receptor found to promote cancer progression and metastasis of various cancer cell types. To investigate the pharmacology of this receptor, and to further elucidate its role in cancer, nov... Read More about Small-Molecule Fluorescent Ligands for the CXCR4 Chemokine Receptor.

NanoB2 to monitor interactions of ligands with membrane proteins by combining nanobodies and NanoBRET (2023)
Journal Article
van den Bor, J., Bergkamp, N. D., Anbuhl, S. M., Dekker, F., Comez, D., Perez Almeria, C. V., …Heukers, R. (2023). NanoB2 to monitor interactions of ligands with membrane proteins by combining nanobodies and NanoBRET. Cell Reports Methods, 3(3), Article 100422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100422

The therapeutic potential of ligands targeting disease-associated membrane proteins is predicted by ligand-receptor binding constants, which can be determined using NanoLuciferase (NanoLuc)-based bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (NanoBRET) m... Read More about NanoB2 to monitor interactions of ligands with membrane proteins by combining nanobodies and NanoBRET.

COVID-19-Induced Myocarditis: Pathophysiological Roles of ACE2 and Toll-like Receptors (2023)
Journal Article
Pannucci, P., Jefferson, S. R., Hampshire, J., Cooper, S. L., Hill, S. J., & Woolard, J. (2023). COVID-19-Induced Myocarditis: Pathophysiological Roles of ACE2 and Toll-like Receptors. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(6), Article 5374. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065374

The clinical manifestations of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) commonly include dyspnoea and fatigue, and they primarily involve the lungs. However, extra-... Read More about COVID-19-Induced Myocarditis: Pathophysiological Roles of ACE2 and Toll-like Receptors.

Use of NanoBiT and NanoBRET to characterise interleukin-23 receptor dimer formation in living cells (2022)
Journal Article
Lay, C. S., Kilpatrick, L. E., Craggs, P. D., & Hill, S. J. (2023). Use of NanoBiT and NanoBRET to characterise interleukin-23 receptor dimer formation in living cells. British Journal of Pharmacology, 180(11), 1444-1459. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.16018

Background and Purpose: Interleukin-23 (IL-23) and its receptor are important drug targets for the treatment of auto-inflammatory diseases. IL-23 binds to a receptor complex composed of two single transmembrane spanning proteins IL23R and IL12Rβ1. In... Read More about Use of NanoBiT and NanoBRET to characterise interleukin-23 receptor dimer formation in living cells.

Kinetic analysis of endogenous β2-adrenoceptor-mediated cAMP GloSensorTM responses in HEK293 cells (2022)
Journal Article
Cullum, S. A., Veprintsev, D. B., & Hill, S. J. (2023). Kinetic analysis of endogenous β2-adrenoceptor-mediated cAMP GloSensorTM responses in HEK293 cells. British Journal of Pharmacology, 180(10), 1304-1315. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.16008

Background and Aim: Standard pharmacological analysis of agonist activity utilises measurements of receptor-mediated responses at a set time-point, or at the peak response level, to characterise ligands. However, the occurrence of non-equilibrium con... Read More about Kinetic analysis of endogenous β2-adrenoceptor-mediated cAMP GloSensorTM responses in HEK293 cells.

Fluorescently tagged nanobodies and NanoBRET to study ligand-binding and agonist-induced conformational changes of full-length EGFR expressed in living cells (2022)
Journal Article
Comez, D., Glenn, J., Anbuhl, S. M., Heukers, R., Smit, M. J., Hill, S. J., & Kilpatrick, L. E. (2022). Fluorescently tagged nanobodies and NanoBRET to study ligand-binding and agonist-induced conformational changes of full-length EGFR expressed in living cells. Frontiers in Immunology, 13, Article 1006718. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1006718

Introduction: The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor is a member of the Erb receptor tyrosine kinase family. It binds several ligands including EGF, betacellulin (BTC) and TGF-α, controls cellular proliferation and invasion and is overexpressed in vari... Read More about Fluorescently tagged nanobodies and NanoBRET to study ligand-binding and agonist-induced conformational changes of full-length EGFR expressed in living cells.

Optimization of Peptide Linker-Based Fluorescent Ligands for the Histamine H1 Receptor (2022)
Journal Article
Kok, Z. Y., Stoddart, L. A., Mistry, S. J., Mocking, T. A., Vischer, H. F., Leurs, R., …Kellam, B. (2022). Optimization of Peptide Linker-Based Fluorescent Ligands for the Histamine H1 Receptor. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 65(12), 8258–8288. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00125

The histamine H1 receptor (H1R) has recently been implicated in mediating cell proliferation and cancer progression, therefore high affinity H1R-selective fluorescent ligands are desirable tools for further investigation of this behaviour in vitro an... Read More about Optimization of Peptide Linker-Based Fluorescent Ligands for the Histamine H1 Receptor.

Involvement of β-adrenoceptors in the cardiovascular responses induced by selective adenosine A2A and A2B receptor agonists (2022)
Journal Article
Wragg, E. S., Pannucci, P., Hill, S. J., Woolard, J., & Cooper, S. L. (2022). Involvement of β-adrenoceptors in the cardiovascular responses induced by selective adenosine A2A and A2B receptor agonists. Pharmacology Research and Perspectives, 10(3), Article e00975. https://doi.org/10.1002/prp2.975

A2A and A2B adenosine receptors produce regionally selective regulation of vascular tone and elicit differing effects on mean arterial pressure (MAP), whilst inducing tachycardia. The tachycardia induced by the stimulation of A2A or A2B receptors has... Read More about Involvement of β-adrenoceptors in the cardiovascular responses induced by selective adenosine A2A and A2B receptor agonists.

Regionally selective cardiovascular responses to adenosine A2A and A2B receptor activation (2022)
Journal Article
Cooper, S. L., Wragg, E. S., Pannucci, P., Soave, M., Hill, S. J., & Woolard, J. (2022). Regionally selective cardiovascular responses to adenosine A2A and A2B receptor activation. FASEB Journal, 36(4), Article e22214. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202101945R

Adenosine is a local mediator that regulates changes in the cardiovascular system via activation of four G protein-coupled receptors (A1, A2A, A2B, A3). Here, we have investigated the effect of A2A and A2B-selective agonists on vasodilatation in thre... Read More about Regionally selective cardiovascular responses to adenosine A2A and A2B receptor activation.

Community guidelines for GPCR ligand bias: IUPHAR review 32 (2022)
Journal Article
Kolb, P., Kenakin, T., Alexander, S. P. H., Bermudez, M., Bohn, L. M., Breinholt, C. S., …Gloriam, D. E. (2022). Community guidelines for GPCR ligand bias: IUPHAR review 32. British Journal of Pharmacology, 179(14), 3651-3674. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.15811

GPCRs modulate a plethora of physiological processes and mediate the effects of one-third of FDA-approved drugs. Depending on which ligand activates a receptor, it can engage different intracellular transducers. This ‘biased signalling’ paradigm requ... Read More about Community guidelines for GPCR ligand bias: IUPHAR review 32.

Role of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone and kinin–kallikrein systems in the cardiovascular complications of COVID-19 and long COVID (2021)
Journal Article
Cooper, S. L., Boyle, E., Jefferson, S. R., Heslop, C. R. A., Mohan, P., Mohanraj, G. G. J., …Woolard, J. (2021). Role of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone and kinin–kallikrein systems in the cardiovascular complications of COVID-19 and long COVID. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(15), Article 8255. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22158255

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients may present as asymptomatic or demonstrate mild to severe and life-threatening symptoms. Although COVID-19 has a respiratory foc... Read More about Role of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone and kinin–kallikrein systems in the cardiovascular complications of COVID-19 and long COVID.

Probing the binding of interleukin-23 to individual receptor components and the IL-23 heteromeric receptor complex in living cells using NanoBRET (2021)
Journal Article
Lay, C. S., Bridges, A., Goulding, J., Briddon, S. J., Soloviev, Z., Craggs, P. D., & Hill, S. J. (2022). Probing the binding of interleukin-23 to individual receptor components and the IL-23 heteromeric receptor complex in living cells using NanoBRET. Cell Chemical Biology, 29(1), 19-29.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.05.002

Interleukin-23 (IL-23) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in the host defence against pathogens, but also implicated in the development of several autoimmune disorders. The IL- 23 receptor has become a key target for drug discovery but the exact... Read More about Probing the binding of interleukin-23 to individual receptor components and the IL-23 heteromeric receptor complex in living cells using NanoBRET.

Subtype selective fluorescent ligands based on ICI 118,551 to study the human β2‐adrenoceptor in CRISPR/Cas9 genome‐edited HEK293T cells at low expression levels (2021)
Journal Article
Kellam, B., White, C. W., Goulding, J., Mistry, S. J., Soave, M., Woolard, J., …Hill, S. J. (2021). Subtype selective fluorescent ligands based on ICI 118,551 to study the human β2‐adrenoceptor in CRISPR/Cas9 genome‐edited HEK293T cells at low expression levels. Pharmacology Research and Perspectives, 9(3), Article e00779. https://doi.org/10.1002/prp2.779

Fluorescent ligand technologies have proved to be powerful tools to improve our understanding of ligand-receptor interactions. Here we have characterized a small focused library of nine fluorescent ligands based on the highly selective β2-adrenocepto... Read More about Subtype selective fluorescent ligands based on ICI 118,551 to study the human β2‐adrenoceptor in CRISPR/Cas9 genome‐edited HEK293T cells at low expression levels.

Use of NanoBiT and NanoBRET to monitor fluorescent VEGF-A binding kinetics to VEGFR2/NRP1 heteromeric complexes in living cells (2021)
Journal Article
Peach, C. J., Kilpatrick, L. E., Woolard, J., & Hill, S. J. (2021). Use of NanoBiT and NanoBRET to monitor fluorescent VEGF-A binding kinetics to VEGFR2/NRP1 heteromeric complexes in living cells. British Journal of Pharmacology, 178(12), 2393-2411. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.15426

Background and Purpose: VEGF‐A is a key mediator of angiogenesis, primarily signalling via VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Endothelial cells also express the co‐receptor neuropilin‐1 (NRP1) that potentiates VEGF‐A/VEGFR2 signalling. VEGFR2 and NRP1 had d... Read More about Use of NanoBiT and NanoBRET to monitor fluorescent VEGF-A binding kinetics to VEGFR2/NRP1 heteromeric complexes in living cells.

Development and Application of Subtype-Selective Fluorescent Antagonists for the Study of the Human Adenosine A1 Receptor in Living Cells (2021)
Journal Article
Comeo, E., Trinh, P., Nguyen, A. T., Nowell, C. J., Kindon, N. D., Soave, M., …Scammells, P. J. (2021). Development and Application of Subtype-Selective Fluorescent Antagonists for the Study of the Human Adenosine A1 Receptor in Living Cells. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 64(10), 6670-6695. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02067

The adenosine A1 receptor (A1AR) is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that provides important therapeutic opportunities for a number of conditions including congestive heart failure, tachycardia, and neuropathic pain. The development of A1AR-select... Read More about Development and Application of Subtype-Selective Fluorescent Antagonists for the Study of the Human Adenosine A1 Receptor in Living Cells.

Efficient G protein coupling is not required for agonist?mediated internalization and membrane reorganization of the adenosine A 3 receptor (2021)
Journal Article
Stoddart, L. A., Kilpatrick, L. E., Corriden, R., Kellam, B., Briddon, S. J., & Hill, S. J. (2021). Efficient G protein coupling is not required for agonist?mediated internalization and membrane reorganization of the adenosine A 3 receptor. FASEB Journal, 35(4), Article e21211. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202001729rr

Organization of G protein-coupled receptors at the plasma membrane has been the focus of much recent attention. Advanced microscopy techniques have shown that these receptors can be localized to discrete microdomains and reorganization upon ligand ac... Read More about Efficient G protein coupling is not required for agonist?mediated internalization and membrane reorganization of the adenosine A 3 receptor.

The use of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to monitor cell surface ?2?adrenoceptors at low expression levels in human embryonic stem cell?derived cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts (2021)
Journal Article
Goulding, J., Kondrashov, A., Mistry, S. J., Melarangi, T., Vo, N. T. N., Hoang, D. M., …Hill, S. J. (2021). The use of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to monitor cell surface β2‐adrenoceptors at low expression levels in human embryonic stem cell‐derived cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts. FASEB Journal, 35(4), Article e21398. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202002268r

The importance of cell phenotype in determining the molecular mechanisms underlying ?2- adrenoceptor (?2AR) function has been noted previously when comparing responses in primary cells and recombinant model cell lines. Here, we have generated haploty... Read More about The use of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to monitor cell surface ?2?adrenoceptors at low expression levels in human embryonic stem cell?derived cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts.

Detection of genome-edited and endogenously expressed G protein-coupled receptors (2021)
Journal Article
Soave, M., Stoddart, L. A., White, C. W., Kilpatrick, L. E., Goulding, J., Briddon, S. J., & Hill, S. J. (2021). Detection of genome-edited and endogenously expressed G protein-coupled receptors. FEBS Journal, 288(8), 2585-2601. https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.15729

© 2021 The Authors. The FEBS Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical Societies. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of membrane receptors and major targets for FDA-approved d... Read More about Detection of genome-edited and endogenously expressed G protein-coupled receptors.

Investigation of Receptor Heteromers Using NanoBRET Ligand Binding (2021)
Journal Article
Johnstone, E. K. M., See, H. B., Abhayawardana, R. S., Song, A., Rosengren, K. J., Hill, S. J., & Pfleger, K. D. G. (2021). Investigation of Receptor Heteromers Using NanoBRET Ligand Binding. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(3), Article 1082. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22031082

Receptor heteromerization is the formation of a complex involving at least two different receptors with pharmacology that is distinct from that exhibited by its constituent receptor units. Detection of these complexes and monitoring their pharmacolog... Read More about Investigation of Receptor Heteromers Using NanoBRET Ligand Binding.

A lipid-anchored neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist prolongs pain relief by a three-pronged mechanism of action targeting the receptor at the plasma membrane and in endosomes (2021)
Journal Article
Mai, Q. N., Shenoy, P., Quach, T., Retamal, J. S., Gondin, A. B., Yeatman, H. R., …Veldhuis, N. A. (2021). A lipid-anchored neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist prolongs pain relief by a three-pronged mechanism of action targeting the receptor at the plasma membrane and in endosomes. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 296, Article 100345. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBC.2021.100345

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are traditionally known for signaling at the plasma membrane, but they can also signal from endosomes after internalization to control important pathophysiological processes. In spinal neurons, sustained endosomal... Read More about A lipid-anchored neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist prolongs pain relief by a three-pronged mechanism of action targeting the receptor at the plasma membrane and in endosomes.

A nanoluciferase biosensor to investigate endogenous chemokine secretion and receptor binding (2020)
Journal Article
White, C. W., Kilpatrick, L. E., Pfleger, K. D., & Hill, S. J. (2021). A nanoluciferase biosensor to investigate endogenous chemokine secretion and receptor binding. iScience, 24(1), Article 102011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.102011

© 2020 The Author(s) Secreted chemokines are critical mediators of cellular communication that elicit intracellular signaling by binding membrane-bound receptors. Here we demonstrate the development and use of a sensitive real-time approach to quanti... Read More about A nanoluciferase biosensor to investigate endogenous chemokine secretion and receptor binding.

Ligand-directed covalent labelling of a GPCR with a fluorescent tag in live cells (2020)
Journal Article
Stoddart, L. A., Kindon, N. D., Otun, O., Harwood, C. R., Patera, F., Veprintsev, D. B., …Kellam, B. (2020). Ligand-directed covalent labelling of a GPCR with a fluorescent tag in live cells. Communications Biology, 3(1), Article 722. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01451-w

© 2020, The Author(s). To study the localisation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) in their native cellular environment requires their visualisation through fluorescent labelling. To overcome the requirement for genetic modification of the recept... Read More about Ligand-directed covalent labelling of a GPCR with a fluorescent tag in live cells.

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated generation and analysis of N terminus polymorphic models of ?2AR in isogenic hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (2020)
Journal Article
Kondrashov, A., Mohd Yusof, N. A., Hasan, A., Goulding, J., Kodagoda, T., Hoang, D. M., …Denning, C. (2021). CRISPR/Cas9-mediated generation and analysis of N terminus polymorphic models of β2AR in isogenic hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. Molecular Therapy - Methods and Clinical Development, 20, 39-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omtm.2020.10.019

© 2020 During normal- and patho-physiological situations, the behavior of the beta2-adrenoreceptor (β2AR) is influenced by polymorphic variants. The functional impact of such polymorphisms has been suggested from data derived from genetic association... Read More about CRISPR/Cas9-mediated generation and analysis of N terminus polymorphic models of ?2AR in isogenic hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes.

Transactivation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs): Recent insights using luminescence and fluorescence technologies (2020)
Journal Article
Kilpatrick, L. E., & Hill, S. J. (2021). Transactivation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs): Recent insights using luminescence and fluorescence technologies. Current Opinion in Endocrine and Metabolic Research, 16, 102-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coemr.2020.10.003

© 2020 The Authors Alterations in signalling due to bidirectional transactivation of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs) and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are well established. Transactivation significantly diversifies signalling networks within a... Read More about Transactivation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs): Recent insights using luminescence and fluorescence technologies.

Using Esterase Selectivity to Determine the in Vivo Duration of Systemic Availability and Abolish Systemic Side Effects of Topical ?-Blockers (2020)
Journal Article
Baker, J. G., Fromont, C., Bruder, M., Thompson, K. S., Kellam, B., Hill, S. J., …Fischer, P. M. (2020). Using Esterase Selectivity to Determine the in Vivo Duration of Systemic Availability and Abolish Systemic Side Effects of Topical β-Blockers. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, 3(4), 737-748. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.0c00051

© 2020 American Chemical Society. For disorders of the skin, eyes, ears, and respiratory tract, topical drugs, delivered directly to the target organ, are a therapeutic option. Compared with systemic oral therapy, the benefits of topical treatments i... Read More about Using Esterase Selectivity to Determine the in Vivo Duration of Systemic Availability and Abolish Systemic Side Effects of Topical ?-Blockers.

Monitoring Allosteric Interactions with CXCR4 Using NanoBiT Conjugated Nanobodies (2020)
Journal Article
Soave, M., Heukers, R., Kellam, B., Woolard, J., Smit, M. J., Briddon, S. J., & Hill, S. J. (2020). Monitoring Allosteric Interactions with CXCR4 Using NanoBiT Conjugated Nanobodies. Cell Chemical Biology, 27, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2020.06.006

© 2020 The Authors Camelid single-domain antibody fragments (nanobodies) offer the specificity of an antibody in a single 15-kDa immunoglobulin domain. Their small size allows for easy genetic manipulation of the nanobody sequence to incorporate prot... Read More about Monitoring Allosteric Interactions with CXCR4 Using NanoBiT Conjugated Nanobodies.

CRISPR-Mediated Protein Tagging with Nanoluciferase to Investigate Native Chemokine Receptor Function and Conformational Changes (2020)
Journal Article
White, C. W., Caspar, B., Vanyai, H. K., Pfleger, K. D., & Hill, S. J. (2020). CRISPR-Mediated Protein Tagging with Nanoluciferase to Investigate Native Chemokine Receptor Function and Conformational Changes. Cell Chemical Biology, 27(5), 499-510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2020.01.010

© 2020 The Authors G protein-coupled receptors are a major class of membrane receptors that mediate physiological and pathophysiological cellular signaling. Many aspects of receptor activation and signaling can be investigated using genetically encod... Read More about CRISPR-Mediated Protein Tagging with Nanoluciferase to Investigate Native Chemokine Receptor Function and Conformational Changes.

Subtype-Selective Fluorescent Ligands as Pharmacological Research Tools for the Human Adenosine A2A Receptor (2019)
Journal Article
Comeo, E., Kindon, N. D., Soave, M., Stoddart, L. A., Kilpatrick, L. E., Scammells, P. J., …Kellam, B. (2020). Subtype-Selective Fluorescent Ligands as Pharmacological Research Tools for the Human Adenosine A2A Receptor. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 63(5), 2656-2672. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01856

© 2019 American Chemical Society. Among class A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR), the human adenosine A2A receptor (hA2AAR) remains an attractive drug target. However, translation of A2AAR ligands into the clinic has proved challenging and an impro... Read More about Subtype-Selective Fluorescent Ligands as Pharmacological Research Tools for the Human Adenosine A2A Receptor.

The effect of two selective A1-receptor agonists and the bitopic ligand VCP746 on heart rate and regional vascular conductance in conscious rats (2019)
Journal Article
Cooper, S. L., March, J., Sabbatini, A. R., Hill, S. J., Jörg, M., Scammells, P. J., & Woolard, J. (2020). The effect of two selective A1-receptor agonists and the bitopic ligand VCP746 on heart rate and regional vascular conductance in conscious rats. British Journal of Pharmacology, 177(2), 346-359. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.14870

Background and purpose Adenosine is a local mediator that regulates physiological and pathological processes via activation of four G protein‐coupled receptors (A1, A2A, A2B, A3). We have investigated the effect of two A1‐receptor selective agonists... Read More about The effect of two selective A1-receptor agonists and the bitopic ligand VCP746 on heart rate and regional vascular conductance in conscious rats.

NanoBiT Complementation to Monitor Agonist-Induced Adenosine A1 Receptor Internalization (2019)
Journal Article
Soave, M., Kellam, B., Woolard, J., Briddon, S. J., & Hill, S. J. (2019). NanoBiT Complementation to Monitor Agonist-Induced Adenosine A1 Receptor Internalization. Slas Discovery, https://doi.org/10.1177/2472555219880475

Receptor internalization in response to prolonged agonist treatment is an important regulator of G protein–coupled receptor (GPCR) function. The adenosine A1 receptor (A1AR) is one of the adenosine receptor family of GPCRs, and evidence for its agoni... Read More about NanoBiT Complementation to Monitor Agonist-Induced Adenosine A1 Receptor Internalization.

Optimised insert design for improved single-molecule imaging and quantification through CRISPR-Cas9 mediated knock-in (2019)
Journal Article
Khan, A. O., White, C. W., Pike, J. A., Yule, J., Slater, A., Hill, S. J., …Morgan, N. V. (2019). Optimised insert design for improved single-molecule imaging and quantification through CRISPR-Cas9 mediated knock-in. Scientific Reports, 9(1), Article 14219. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50733-9

© 2019, The Author(s). The use of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing to introduce endogenously expressed tags has the potential to address a number of the classical limitations of single molecule localisation microscopy. In this work we present the first sys... Read More about Optimised insert design for improved single-molecule imaging and quantification through CRISPR-Cas9 mediated knock-in.

Modulators of CXCR4 and CXCR7/ACKR3 Function (2019)
Journal Article
Adlere, I., Caspar, B., Arimont, M., Dekkers, S., Visser, K., Stuijt, J., …Leurs, R. (2019). Modulators of CXCR4 and CXCR7/ACKR3 Function. Molecular Pharmacology, 96(6), 737-752. https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.119.117663

Copyright © 2019 by The Author(s). The two G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and atypical chemokine receptor 3 (ACKR3) are part of the class A chemokine GPCR family and represent important drug targets for hu... Read More about Modulators of CXCR4 and CXCR7/ACKR3 Function.

Comparison of the ligand‐binding properties of fluorescent VEGF‐A isoforms to VEGF receptor 2 in living cells and membrane preparations using NanoBRET (2019)
Journal Article
Peach, C. J., Kilpatrick, L. E., Woolard, J., & Hill, S. J. (2019). Comparison of the ligand‐binding properties of fluorescent VEGF‐A isoforms to VEGF receptor 2 in living cells and membrane preparations using NanoBRET. British Journal of Pharmacology, 176(17), 3220-3235. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.14755

Background and Purpose: Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGF-A) is a key mediator of angiogenesis. A striking feature of the binding of a fluorescent analogue of VEGF165a to NanoLuciferase-tagged VEGF Receptor 2 (VEGFR2) in living cells is that... Read More about Comparison of the ligand‐binding properties of fluorescent VEGF‐A isoforms to VEGF receptor 2 in living cells and membrane preparations using NanoBRET.

Probe dependency in the determination of ligand binding kinetics at a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor (2019)
Journal Article
Bosma, R., Stoddart, L. A., Georgi, V., Bouzo-Lorenzo, M., Bushby, N., Inkoom, L., …Leurs, R. (2019). Probe dependency in the determination of ligand binding kinetics at a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor. Scientific Reports, 9, Article 7906. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44025-5

© 2019, The Author(s). Drug-target binding kinetics are suggested to be important parameters for the prediction of in vivo drug-efficacy. For G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the binding kinetics of ligands are typically determined using associat... Read More about Probe dependency in the determination of ligand binding kinetics at a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor.

Complex formation between VEGFR2 and the β2-adrenoceptor (2019)
Journal Article
Kilpatrick, L. E., Alcobia, D. C., White, C. W., Peach, C. J., Glenn, J. R., Zimmerman, K., …Hill, S. J. (2019). Complex formation between VEGFR2 and the β2-adrenoceptor. Cell Chemical Biology, 26(6), 830-841.e9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2019.02.014

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important mediator of endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis via its receptor VEGFR2. A common tumor associated with elevated VEGFR2 signaling is infantile hemangioma that is caused by a rapid... Read More about Complex formation between VEGFR2 and the β2-adrenoceptor.

A live cell NanoBRET binding assay allows the study of ligand-binding kinetics to the adenosine A3 receptor (2019)
Journal Article
Bouzo-Lorenzo, M., Stoddart, L. A., Xia, L., Jerzman, A. P., Heitman, L. H., Briddon, S. J., & Hill, S. J. (2019). A live cell NanoBRET binding assay allows the study of ligand-binding kinetics to the adenosine A3 receptor. Purinergic Signalling, 15(2), 139–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11302-019-09650-9

There is a growing interest in understanding the binding kinetics of compounds that bind to G proteincoupled receptors prior to progressing a lead compound into clinical trials. The widely expressed adenosine A3 receptor (A3AR) has been implicated in... Read More about A live cell NanoBRET binding assay allows the study of ligand-binding kinetics to the adenosine A3 receptor.

Probe dependence of allosteric enhancers on the binding affinity of adenosine A1‐receptor agonists at rat and human A1‐receptors measured using NanoBRET (2019)
Journal Article
Cooper, S. L., Soave, M., Jörg, M., Scammells, P. J., Woolard, J., & Hill, S. J. (2019). Probe dependence of allosteric enhancers on the binding affinity of adenosine A1‐receptor agonists at rat and human A1‐receptors measured using NanoBRET. British Journal of Pharmacology, 176(7), 864-878. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.14575

Background and Purpose: Adenosine is a local mediator that regulates a number of physiological and pathological processes via activation of adenosine A1‐receptors. The activity of adenosine can be regulated at the level of its target receptor via dru... Read More about Probe dependence of allosteric enhancers on the binding affinity of adenosine A1‐receptor agonists at rat and human A1‐receptors measured using NanoBRET.

Binding kinetics of ligands acting at GPCRs (2019)
Journal Article
Sykes, D. A., Stoddart, L. A., Kilpatrick, L. E., & Hill, S. J. (2019). Binding kinetics of ligands acting at GPCRs. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 485, 9-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2019.01.018

The influence of drug-receptor binding kinetics has often been overlooked during the development of new therapeutics that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Over the last decade there has been a growing understanding that an in-depth knowled... Read More about Binding kinetics of ligands acting at GPCRs.

Structure-based exploration and pharmacological evaluation of N-substituted piperidin-4-yl-methanamine CXCR4 chemokine receptor antagonists (2018)
Journal Article
Adlere, I., Sun, S., Zarca, A., Roumen, L., Gozelle, M., Viciano, C. P., …Leurs, R. (2019). Structure-based exploration and pharmacological evaluation of N-substituted piperidin-4-yl-methanamine CXCR4 chemokine receptor antagonists. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 162, 631-649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2018.10.060

Using the available structural information of the chemokine receptor CXCR4, we present hit finding and hit exploration studies that make use of virtual fragment screening, design, synthesis and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies. Fragment... Read More about Structure-based exploration and pharmacological evaluation of N-substituted piperidin-4-yl-methanamine CXCR4 chemokine receptor antagonists.

Visualising ligand-binding to a GPCR in vivo using nanoBRET (2018)
Journal Article
Carvalheira Alcobia, D., Ziegler, A. I., Kondrashov, A., Comeo, E., Mistry, S., Kellam, B., …Sloan, E. K. (2018). Visualising ligand-binding to a GPCR in vivo using nanoBRET. iScience, 6(8), 280-288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2018.08.006

© 2018 The Author(s) The therapeutic action of a drug depends on its ability to engage with its molecular target in vivo. However, current drug discovery strategies quantify drug levels within organs rather than determining the binding of drugs direc... Read More about Visualising ligand-binding to a GPCR in vivo using nanoBRET.

Real-Time Ligand Binding of Fluorescent VEGF-A Isoforms that Discriminate between VEGFR2 and NRP1 in Living Cells (2018)
Journal Article
Peach, C. J., Kilpatrick, L. E., Friedman-Ohana, R., Zimmerman, K., Robers, M. B., Wood, K. V., …Hill, S. J. (2018). Real-Time Ligand Binding of Fluorescent VEGF-A Isoforms that Discriminate between VEGFR2 and NRP1 in Living Cells. Cell Chemical Biology, 25(10), 1208-1218.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2018.06.012

© 2018 The Author(s) Fluorescent VEGF-A isoforms have been evaluated for their ability to discriminate between VEGFR2 and NRP1 in real-time ligand binding studies in live cells using BRET. To enable this, we synthesized single-site (N-terminal cystei... Read More about Real-Time Ligand Binding of Fluorescent VEGF-A Isoforms that Discriminate between VEGFR2 and NRP1 in Living Cells.

Molecular pharmacology of VEGF-A isoforms: binding and signalling at VEGFR2 (2018)
Journal Article
Peach, C., Mignone, V., Arruda, M., Alcobia, D., Hill, S., Kilpatrick, L., & Woolard, J. (2018). Molecular pharmacology of VEGF-A isoforms: binding and signalling at VEGFR2. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(4), Article 1264. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19041264

Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) is a key mediator of angiogenesis, signalling via the class IV tyrosine kinase receptor family of VEGF Receptors (VEGFRs). Although VEGF-A ligands bind to both VEGFR1 and VEGFR2, they primarily signal via... Read More about Molecular pharmacology of VEGF-A isoforms: binding and signalling at VEGFR2.

Synthesis and evaluation of the first fluorescent antagonists of the human P2Y2 receptor based on AR-C118925 (2018)
Journal Article
Conroy, S., Kindon, N., Glenn, J., Stoddart, L. A., Lewis, R. J., Hill, S. J., …Stocks, M. J. (2018). Synthesis and evaluation of the first fluorescent antagonists of the human P2Y2 receptor based on AR-C118925. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 61(7), https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00139

The human P2Y2 receptor (hP2Y2R) is a G protein-coupled receptor that shows promise as a therapeutic target for many important conditions including anti-metastatic cancer therapy and more recently for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. A... Read More about Synthesis and evaluation of the first fluorescent antagonists of the human P2Y2 receptor based on AR-C118925.

Development of novel fluorescent histamine H?-receptor antagonists to study ligand-binding kinetics in living cells (2018)
Journal Article
Stoddart, L. A., Vernall, A. J., Bouzo-Lorenzo, M., Bosma, R., Kooistra, A. J., de Graaf, C., …Hill, S. J. (2018). Development of novel fluorescent histamine H₁-receptor antagonists to study ligand-binding kinetics in living cells. Scientific Reports, 8, Article 1572. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-19714-2

The histamine H1-receptor (H1R) is an important mediator of allergy and inflammation. H1R antagonists have particular clinical utility in allergic rhinitis and urticaria. Here we have developed six novel fluorescent probes for this receptor that are... Read More about Development of novel fluorescent histamine H?-receptor antagonists to study ligand-binding kinetics in living cells.

A non-imaging high throughput approach to chemical library screening at the unmodified adenosine-A3 receptor in living cells (2017)
Journal Article
Arruda, M. A., Stoddart, L. A., Gherbi, K., Briddon, S. J., Kellam, B., & Hill, S. J. (in press). A non-imaging high throughput approach to chemical library screening at the unmodified adenosine-A3 receptor in living cells. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 8(908), https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2017.00908

Recent advances in fluorescent ligand technology have enabled the study of G protein-coupled receptors in their native environment without the need for genetic modification such as addition of N-terminal fluorescent or bioluminescent tags. Here, we h... Read More about A non-imaging high throughput approach to chemical library screening at the unmodified adenosine-A3 receptor in living cells.

A monoclonal antibody raised against a thermo-stabilised ?1-adrenoceptor interacts with extracellular loop 2 and acts as a negative allosteric modulator of a sub-set of 1- adrenoceptors expressed in stable cell lines (2017)
Journal Article
Soave, M., Cseke, G., Hutchings, C. J., Brown, A. J., Woolard, J., & Hill, S. J. (2018). A monoclonal antibody raised against a thermo-stabilised ?1-adrenoceptor interacts with extracellular loop 2 and acts as a negative allosteric modulator of a sub-set of 1- adrenoceptors expressed in stable cell lines. Biochemical Pharmacology, 147, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2017.10.015

Recent interest has focused on antibodies that can discriminate between different receptor conformations. Here we have characterised the effect of a monoclonal antibody (mAb3), raised against a purified thermo-stabilised turkey ?1-adrenoceptor (?1AR-... Read More about A monoclonal antibody raised against a thermo-stabilised ?1-adrenoceptor interacts with extracellular loop 2 and acts as a negative allosteric modulator of a sub-set of 1- adrenoceptors expressed in stable cell lines.

Characterisation of endogenous A2A and A2B receptor-mediated cyclic AMP responses in HEK 293 cells using the GloSensor™ biosensor: evidence for an allosteric mechanism of action for the A2B-selective antagonist PSB 603 (2017)
Journal Article
Goulding, J., May, L. T., & Hill, S. J. (2018). Characterisation of endogenous A2A and A2B receptor-mediated cyclic AMP responses in HEK 293 cells using the GloSensor™ biosensor: evidence for an allosteric mechanism of action for the A2B-selective antagonist PSB 603. Biochemical Pharmacology, 147, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2017.10.013

Endogenous adenosine A2B receptors (A2BAR) mediate cAMP accumulation in HEK 293 cells. Here we have used a biosensor to investigate the mechanism of action of the A2BAR antagonist PSB 603 in HEK 293 cells. The A2A agonist CGS 21680 elicited a small r... Read More about Characterisation of endogenous A2A and A2B receptor-mediated cyclic AMP responses in HEK 293 cells using the GloSensor™ biosensor: evidence for an allosteric mechanism of action for the A2B-selective antagonist PSB 603.

Novel selective ?1-adrenoceptor antagonists for concomitant cardiovascular and respiratory disease (2017)
Journal Article
Baker, J. G., Gardiner, S. M., Woolard, J., Fromont, C., Jadhav, G. P., Mistry, S. N., …Fischer, P. M. (2017). Novel selective β1-adrenoceptor antagonists for concomitant cardiovascular and respiratory disease. FASEB Journal, 31(7), 3150-3166. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.201601305R

?-Blockers reduce mortality and improve symptoms in people with heart disease. However, current clinically available ?-blockers have poor selectivity for the cardiac ?1-adrenoceptor (AR) over the lung ?2-AR. Unwanted ?2-blockade risks causing life-th... Read More about Novel selective ?1-adrenoceptor antagonists for concomitant cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

Real-time analysis of the binding of fluorescent VEGF165a to VEGFR2 in living cells: Effect of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and fate of internalized agonist-receptor complexes (2017)
Journal Article
Kilpatrick, L. E., Friedman-Ohana, R., Alcobia, D. C., Riching, K., Peach, C. J., Wheal, A. J., …Hill, S. J. (2017). Real-time analysis of the binding of fluorescent VEGF165a to VEGFR2 in living cells: Effect of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and fate of internalized agonist-receptor complexes. Biochemical Pharmacology, 136, 62-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2017.04.006

© 2017 The Authors Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important mediator of angiogenesis. Here we have used a novel stoichiometric protein-labeling method to generate a fluorescent variant of VEGF (VEGF165a-TMR) labeled on a single cyste... Read More about Real-time analysis of the binding of fluorescent VEGF165a to VEGFR2 in living cells: Effect of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and fate of internalized agonist-receptor complexes.

Design and elaboration of a tractable tricyclic scaffold to synthesize druglike inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), antagonists of the C–C Chemokine Receptor Type 5 (CCR5), and highly potent and selective phosphoinositol-3 Kinase δ (PI3Kδ) inhibitors (2017)
Journal Article
Schwehm, C., Kellam, B., Garces, A., Hill, S. J., Kindon, N., Bradshaw, T. D., …Stocks, M. (2017). Design and elaboration of a tractable tricyclic scaffold to synthesize druglike inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), antagonists of the C–C Chemokine Receptor Type 5 (CCR5), and highly potent and selective phosphoinositol-3 Kinase δ (PI3Kδ) inhibitors. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 60(4), https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b01801

A novel molecular scaffold has been synthesized, and its incorporation into new analogues of biologically active molecules across multiple target classes will be discussed. In these studies, we have shown use of the tricyclic scaffold to synthesize p... Read More about Design and elaboration of a tractable tricyclic scaffold to synthesize druglike inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), antagonists of the C–C Chemokine Receptor Type 5 (CCR5), and highly potent and selective phosphoinositol-3 Kinase δ (PI3Kδ) inhibitors.

Structure-activity relationships of the sustained effects of adenosine A2A receptor agonists driven by slow dissociation kinetics (2017)
Journal Article
Hothersall, J. D., Guo, D., Sarda, S., Sheppard, R. J., Chen, H., Keur, W., …Rawlins, P. B. (2017). Structure-activity relationships of the sustained effects of adenosine A2A receptor agonists driven by slow dissociation kinetics. Molecular Pharmacology, 91(1), https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.116.105551

The duration of action of adenosine A2A receptor (A2A) agonists is critical for their clinical efficacy, and we sought to better understand how this can be optimized. The in vitro temporal response profiles of a panel of A2A agonists were studied usi... Read More about Structure-activity relationships of the sustained effects of adenosine A2A receptor agonists driven by slow dissociation kinetics.

Use of a new proximity assay (NanoBRET) to investigate the ligand-binding characteristics of three fluorescent ligands to the human?1-adrenoceptor expressed in HEK-293 cells (2016)
Journal Article
Soave, M., Stoddart, L. A., Brown, A., Woolard, J., & Hill, S. J. (2016). Use of a new proximity assay (NanoBRET) to investigate the ligand-binding characteristics of three fluorescent ligands to the human?1-adrenoceptor expressed in HEK-293 cells. Pharmacology Research and Perspectives, 4(5), Article e00250. https://doi.org/10.1002/prp2.250

Previous research has indicated that allosteric interactions across the dimer interface of β1-adrenoceptors may be responsible for a secondary low affinity binding conformation. Here we have investigated the potential for probe dependence, in the det... Read More about Use of a new proximity assay (NanoBRET) to investigate the ligand-binding characteristics of three fluorescent ligands to the human?1-adrenoceptor expressed in HEK-293 cells.

The use of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to characterize the molecular mobility of fluorescently labelled G protein-coupled receptors (2016)
Journal Article
Kilpatrick, L. E., & Hill, S. J. (in press). The use of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to characterize the molecular mobility of fluorescently labelled G protein-coupled receptors. Biochemical Society Transactions, 44(2), https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20150285

The membranes of living cells have been shown to be highly organized into distinct microdomains, which has spatial and temporal consequences for the interaction of membrane bound receptors and their signalling partners as complexes. Fluorescence corr... Read More about The use of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to characterize the molecular mobility of fluorescently labelled G protein-coupled receptors.

Fragment-Based Discovery of Subtype-Selective Adenosine Receptor Ligands from Homology Models (2015)
Journal Article
Ranganathan, A., Stoddart, L. A., Hill, S. J., & Carlsson, J. (2015). Fragment-Based Discovery of Subtype-Selective Adenosine Receptor Ligands from Homology Models. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 58(24), 9578-9590. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b01120

Fragment-based lead discovery (FBLD) holds great promise for drug discovery, but applications to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been limited by a lack of sensitive screening techniques and scarce structural information. If virtual screening... Read More about Fragment-Based Discovery of Subtype-Selective Adenosine Receptor Ligands from Homology Models.

Application of BRET to monitor ligand binding to GPCRs (2015)
Journal Article
Stoddart, L. A., Johnstone, E. K., Wheal, A. J., Goulding, J., Robers, M. B., Machleidt, T., …Pfleger, K. D. (in press). Application of BRET to monitor ligand binding to GPCRs. Nature Methods, 12, https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.3398

Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) is a well-established method for investigating protein-protein interactions. Here we present a BRET approach to monitor ligand binding to G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) on the surface of living ce... Read More about Application of BRET to monitor ligand binding to GPCRs.

Direct visualisation of internalization of the adenosine A3 receptor and localization with arrestin3 using a fluorescent agonist (2015)
Journal Article
Stoddart, L. A., Vernall, A. J., Briddon, S. J., Kellam, B., & Hill, S. J. (2015). Direct visualisation of internalization of the adenosine A3 receptor and localization with arrestin3 using a fluorescent agonist. Neuropharmacology, 98, 68-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2015.04.013

Fluorescence based probes provide a novel way to study the dynamic internalization process of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Recent advances in the rational design of fluorescent ligands for GPCRs have been used here to generate new fluorescent... Read More about Direct visualisation of internalization of the adenosine A3 receptor and localization with arrestin3 using a fluorescent agonist.

Negative cooperativity across ?1-adrenoceptor homodimers provides insights into the nature of the secondary low-affinity CGP 12177 ?1-adrenoceptor binding conformation (2015)
Journal Article
Gherbi, K., May, L. T., Baker, J. G., Briddon, S. J., & Hill, S. J. (2015). Negative cooperativity across ?1-adrenoceptor homodimers provides insights into the nature of the secondary low-affinity CGP 12177 ?1-adrenoceptor binding conformation. FASEB Journal, 29(7), 2859-2871. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.14-265199

At the β1-adrenoceptor, CGP 12177 potently antagonizes agonist responses at the primary high-affinity catecholamine conformation while also exerting agonist effects of its own through a secondary low-affinity conformation. A recent mutagenesis study... Read More about Negative cooperativity across ?1-adrenoceptor homodimers provides insights into the nature of the secondary low-affinity CGP 12177 ?1-adrenoceptor binding conformation.

Effects of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors on VEGF165a- and VEGF165b-stimulated gene transcription in HEK-293 cells expressing human VEGFR2 (2015)
Journal Article
Carter, J. J., Wheal, A. J., Hill, S. J., & Woolard, J. (2015). Effects of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors on VEGF165a- and VEGF165b-stimulated gene transcription in HEK-293 cells expressing human VEGFR2. British Journal of Pharmacology, 172(12), https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.13116

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (RTKIs) targeted at VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) have proved to be attractive approaches to cancer therapy based on their ability to reduce angiogenesis. Here we have undertaken a quantitative... Read More about Effects of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors on VEGF165a- and VEGF165b-stimulated gene transcription in HEK-293 cells expressing human VEGFR2.

Kinetic analysis of antagonist-occupied adenosine-A3 receptors within membrane microdomains of individual cells provides evidence of receptor dimerization and allosterism (2014)
Journal Article
Corriden, R., Kilpatrick, L. E., Kellam, B., Briddon, S. J., & Hill, S. J. (2014). Kinetic analysis of antagonist-occupied adenosine-A3 receptors within membrane microdomains of individual cells provides evidence of receptor dimerization and allosterism. FASEB Journal, 28(10), 4211-4222. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.13-247270

© The Author(s). In our previous work, using a fluorescent adenosine-A3 receptor (A3AR) agonist and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), we demonstrated highaffinity labeling of the active receptor (R∗) conformation. In the current study, we... Read More about Kinetic analysis of antagonist-occupied adenosine-A3 receptors within membrane microdomains of individual cells provides evidence of receptor dimerization and allosterism.

Effect of a toggle switch mutation in TM6 of the human adenosine A3 receptor on Gi protein-dependent signalling and Gi-independent receptor internalization (2014)
Journal Article
Stoddart, L. A., Kellam, B., Briddon, S. J., & Hill, S. J. (2014). Effect of a toggle switch mutation in TM6 of the human adenosine A3 receptor on Gi protein-dependent signalling and Gi-independent receptor internalization. British Journal of Pharmacology, 171(16), https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.12739

Background and Purpose: The highly conserved tryptophan (W6.48) in transmembrane domain 6 of GPCRs has been shown to play a central role in forming an active conformation in response to agonist binding. We set out to characterize the effect of this m... Read More about Effect of a toggle switch mutation in TM6 of the human adenosine A3 receptor on Gi protein-dependent signalling and Gi-independent receptor internalization.

Allosteric interactions at adenosine A1 and A3 receptors: new insights into the role of small molecules and receptor dimerization (2014)
Journal Article
Hill, S. J., May, L. T., Kellam, B., & Woolard, J. (2014). Allosteric interactions at adenosine A1 and A3 receptors: new insights into the role of small molecules and receptor dimerization. British Journal of Pharmacology, 171(5), https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.12345

Keywords:adenosine;allosterism;receptor;GPCR;dimerization;biased signalling The purine nucleoside adenosine is present in all cells in tightly regulated concentrations. It is released under a variety of physiological and pathophysiological condition... Read More about Allosteric interactions at adenosine A1 and A3 receptors: new insights into the role of small molecules and receptor dimerization.

The evolving small-molecule fluorescent-conjugate toolbox for Class A GPCRs (2014)
Journal Article
Vernall, A. J., Hill, S. J., & Kellam, B. (2014). The evolving small-molecule fluorescent-conjugate toolbox for Class A GPCRs. British Journal of Pharmacology, 171(5), https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.12265

The past decade has witnessed fluorescently tagged drug molecules gaining significant attraction in their use as pharmacological tools with which to visualize and interrogate receptor targets at the single-cell level. Additionally, one can generate d... Read More about The evolving small-molecule fluorescent-conjugate toolbox for Class A GPCRs.

Monoclonal anti-?1-adrenergic receptor antibodies activate G protein signaling in the absence of ?-arrestin recruitment (2013)
Journal Article
Hutchings, C. J., Cseke, G., Osborne, G., Woolard, J., Zhukov, A., Koglin, M., …Marshall, F. H. (2014). Monoclonal anti-β1-adrenergic receptor antibodies activate G protein signaling in the absence of β-arrestin recruitment. mAbs, 6(1), 246-261. https://doi.org/10.4161/mabs.27226

Thermostabilized G protein-coupled receptors used as antigens for in vivo immunization have resulted in the generation of functional agonistic anti-?1-adrenergic (?1AR) receptor monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The focus of this study was to examine the... Read More about Monoclonal anti-?1-adrenergic receptor antibodies activate G protein signaling in the absence of ?-arrestin recruitment.

Conversion of a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist into A 3-selective high affinity fluorescent probes using peptide-based linkers (2013)
Journal Article
Vernall, A. J., Stoddart, L. A., Briddon, S. J., Ng, H. W., Laughton, C. A., Doughty, S. W., …Kellam, B. (2013). Conversion of a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist into A 3-selective high affinity fluorescent probes using peptide-based linkers. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 11(34), 5673-5682. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ob41221k

Advances in fluorescence-based imaging technologies have helped propel the study of real-time biological readouts and analysis across many different areas. In particular the use of fluorescent ligands as chemical tools to study proteins such as G pro... Read More about Conversion of a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist into A 3-selective high affinity fluorescent probes using peptide-based linkers.

Adenosine-A3 receptors in neutrophil microdomains promote the formation of bacteria-tethering cytonemes (2013)
Journal Article
Corriden, R., Self, T., Akong-Moore, K., Nizet, V., Kellam, B., Briddon, S. J., & Hill, S. J. (2013). Adenosine-A3 receptors in neutrophil microdomains promote the formation of bacteria-tethering cytonemes. EMBO Reports, 14(8), https://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2013.89

The A3‐adenosine receptor (A3AR) has recently emerged as a key regulator of neutrophil behaviour. Using a fluorescent A3AR ligand, we show that A3ARs aggregate in highly polarized immunomodulatory microdomains on human neutrophil membranes. In additi... Read More about Adenosine-A3 receptors in neutrophil microdomains promote the formation of bacteria-tethering cytonemes.

Synthesis and in vitro and in vivo characterization of highly ?1-Selective ?-Adrenoceptor partial agonists (2013)
Journal Article
Mistry, S. N., Baker, J. G., Fischer, P. M., Hill, S. J., Gardiner, S. M., & Kellam, B. (2013). Synthesis and in vitro and in vivo characterization of highly ?1-Selective ?-Adrenoceptor partial agonists. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 56(10), https://doi.org/10.1021/jm400348g

β-Adrenoceptor antagonists boast a 50-year use for symptomatic control in numerous cardiovascular diseases. One might expect highly selective antagonists are available for the human β-adrenoceptor subtype involved in these diseases, yet few truly β1-... Read More about Synthesis and in vitro and in vivo characterization of highly ?1-Selective ?-Adrenoceptor partial agonists.

Synthesis and characterization of high-affinity 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-labeled fluorescent ligands for human ?-adrenoceptors (2011)
Journal Article
Baker, J. G., Adams, L. A., Salchow, K., Mistry, S. N., Middleton, R. J., Hill, S. J., & Kellam, B. (2011). Synthesis and characterization of high-affinity 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-labeled fluorescent ligands for human ?-adrenoceptors. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 54(19), 6874-6887. doi:10.1021/jm2008562

The growing practice of exploiting noninvasive fluorescence-based techniques to study G protein-coupled receptor pharmacology at the single cell and single molecule level demands the availability of high-quality fluorescent ligands. To this end, this... Read More about Synthesis and characterization of high-affinity 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-labeled fluorescent ligands for human ?-adrenoceptors.