Heterologous expression of G-protein-coupled receptors in yeast

Heterologous yeast expression systems have been successfully used for the production of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for both structural and functional studies. Yeast combine comparatively low cost and short culture times with straightforward generation of expression clones. They also perform some key posttranslational modifications not possible in bacterial systems. There are two major yeast expression systems, Pichia pastoris and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, both of which have been used for the production of GPCRs. P. pastoris has a proven track record for the production of large amounts of GPCR for structural studies. High-resolution crystal structures of both the adenosine A2A and the histamine H1 receptors have been obtained using protein expressed in this system. S. cerevisiae is relatively easy to engineer and this has resulted in the development of sophisticated tools for the functional characterization of GPCRs. In this chapter, we provide protocols for both large-scale receptor expression in P. pastoris for structural studies and small-scale receptor expression in S. cerevisiae for functional characterization. In both cases, the receptor used is the human adenosine A2A receptor. The results that both we and others have obtained using these protocols show the wide utility of the yeast expression systems for the production of GPCRs.