Membrane Nanoscopic Organization of D2L Dopamine Receptor Probed by Quantum Dot Tracking

The role of lateral mobility and nanodomain organization of G protein-coupled receptors in modulating subcellular signaling has been under increasing scrutiny. Investigation of D2 dopamine receptor diffusion dynamics is of particular interest, as these receptors have been linked to altered neurotransmission in affective disorders and represent the primary target for commonly prescribed antipsychotics. Here, we applied our single quantum dot tracking approach to decipher intrinsic diffusion patterns of the wild-type long isoform of the D2 dopamine receptor and its genetic variants previously identified in several cohorts of schizophrenia patients. We identified a subtle decrease in the diffusion rate of the Val96Ala mutant that parallels its previously reported reduced affinity for potent neuroleptics clozapine and chlorpromazine. Slower Val96Ala variant diffusion was not accompanied by a change in receptor-receptor transient interactions as defined by the diffraction-limited quantum dot colocalization events. In addition, we implemented a Voronoї tessellation-based algorithm to compare nanoclustering of the D2 dopamine receptor to the dominant anionic phospholipid phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate in the plasma membrane of live cells.