Bioluminescent Ligand-Receptor Binding Assays for Protein or Peptide Hormones

Bioluminescence has been widely used in biomedical research due to its high sensitivity, low background, and broad linear range. In recent studies, we applied bioluminescence to ligand-receptor binding assays for some protein or peptide hormones based on a newly developed small monomeric Nanoluciferase (NanoLuc) reporter that has the so far brightest bioluminescence. The conventional ligand-receptor binding assays rely on radioligands that have drawbacks, such as radioactive hazards and short shelf lives. In contrast, the novel bioluminescent binding assays use the NanoLuc-based protein or peptide tracers that are safe, stable, and ultrasensitive. Thus, the novel bioluminescent ligand-receptor binding assay would be applied to more and more protein or peptide hormones for ligand-receptor interaction studies in future. In the present article, we provided detailed protocols for setting up the novel bioluminescent ligand-receptor binding assays using two representative protein hormones as examples.