Radioligand Binding Assays: Application of [125I]Angiotensin II Receptor Binding

Angiotensin II (AngII) is an octapeptide hormone with a key role in blood pressure regulation. AngII increases blood pressure by stimulating G protein-coupled receptors in vascular smooth muscle. AngII receptors are therefore an important target in patients with high blood pressure. Strategies to lower high blood pressure (hypertension) include the use of drugs that compete for AngII at the angiotensin II Type 1 receptors (ATR) using ATR antagonists (e.g., irbesartan, valsartan, and losartan). This chapter will demonstrate the subtype specificity of ATR binding and we discuss some of the key experiments that are necessary in optimizing some of the parameters for GPCR screening. The latter protocols include saturation binding to determine K _d and B _max , as well as competition/inhibition experiments to determine the IC₅₀ of binding. For these experiments we have used rat liver membranes which express ATR (type 1a) in relatively abundant amounts. Additionally, rat liver membrane preparations can be easily prepared in “bulk,” frozen away for extended periods (up to 1 year) and used when necessary with no loss of receptor binding activity using the radiolabeled angiotensin II analogue, [¹²⁵ I][Sar¹ ,I le⁸ ]AngII.