Production of membrane proteins in industry: The example of GPCRs

Whereas membrane proteins make up ∼23% of the human proteome, it is estimated that membrane proteins constitute more than 60% of current drug targets. With membrane proteins forming such a high percentage of drug targets relative to their abundance within the proteome, it is little wonder that drug companies need to rapidly access high quality membrane proteins for their drug discovery process. Newly devised technologies, such as rapid gene synthesis, novel detergents, and protein thermostabilisation strategies allow conventionally 'undruggable' membrane proteins to be drugged. In this review, we survey the state-of-the-art gene design, expression and purification strategies, and protein thermostabilisation methods used within a modern drug discovery programme, with a focus on G protein-coupled receptors.