Luteinizing hormone receptors are self-associated in the plasma membrane

We have evaluated rat LH receptor self-association and lateral dynamics for functional and nonfunctional receptors after binding of hormone. We demonstrate, for the first time, that grouped receptors observed in electron or light microscopy represent actual receptor dimers or oligomers rather than simply the concentration of receptors within membrane microdomains. Fringe fluorescence photobleaching recovery methods showed that, after binding of either LH or human CG (hCG), functional wild-type LH receptors, expressed on 293 cells (LHR-wt cells), have mobilities that are 25% lower than those of nonfunctional LH receptors containing an arginine substitution for lysine at position 583 (LHR-K583R cells). Because lateral diffusion coefficients in two dimensions depend only on the logarithm of the molecular size of the diffusing species, this result implies that functional receptors exist in substantially larger membrane complexes than do nonfunctional receptors. In single-cell measurements of fluorescence energy transfer after hormone binding, functional LH receptors were also characterized by receptor self-aggregation. Values for fluorescence resonant energy transfer efficiency were 13 +/- 2% and 17 +/- 3% between fluorophore-conjugated LH or hCG, respectively, bound to receptors on LHR-wt cells. However, there was little or no energy transfer between receptors on LHR-K583R cells. These results suggest that receptor functionality involves receptor-receptor interactions and that the extent of such receptor self-association depends on whether LH or hCG binds the receptor.