You are asked to divert resources in your research division tofund a project to identify the receptor for “excitor”, a plantderived compound which is very hydrophobic, but potent atstimulating animal neurons to grow. Your research group has beenstudying the effects of an agonist molecule called “excitor” in arat model for anxiety. The agonist is potent at inhibiting anxiety,so could potentially lead to a useful therapeutic for anxietydisorders. Your company has a library of putative GPCR cDNAs forwhich they also have RNA expression data in numerous rat tissues.After painstaking analysis on your computer, you have found acandidate GPCR cDNA ,G77R, which is expressed in the very brainregions you see effects with “excitor”. You are convinced this cDNAmay represent the cDNA for the receptor for “excitor”, thediscovery of which could lead to a promotion and pay increase foryou.

Describe how you will demonstrate that this cDNA G77Rencodes a specific receptor for “excitor” by performing a specificreceptor binding assay on whole cells. Include which cells you willuse, your controls and brief descriptions of the methodsused.

Just looking to understand what it means by specific receptorbinding assay... would a radio labeled ligand receptor assay be anoption? Would using whole cells change what assay could be used? Oris a pull down assay an option since the potential receptor is aGPCR? If so, would a pull down assay be considered an example of aspecific receptor binding assay? The G77R is just a name given tothe potential receptor.