Biophysical characterization of G-protein coupled receptor-peptide ligand binding

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are ubiquitous membrane proteins allowing intracellular responses to extracellular factors that range from photons of light to small molecules to proteins. Despite extensive exploitation of GPCRs as therapeutic targets, biophysical characterization of GPCR-ligand interactions remains challenging. In this minireview, we focus on techniques that have been successfully used for structural and biophysical characterization of peptide ligands binding to their cognate GPCRs. The techniques reviewed include solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, solid-state NMR, X-ray diffraction, fluorescence spectroscopy and single-molecule fluorescence methods, flow cytometry, surface plasmon resonance, isothermal titration calorimetry, and atomic force microscopy. The goal herein is to provide a cohesive starting point to allow selection of techniques appropriate to the elucidation of a given GPCR-peptide interaction.