INDIGO Biosciences Releases Cell-Based Luciferase Reporter Assay for the Human Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor (GLP-1R)

State College, PA (20 November 2023) – INDIGO Biosciences announced today the release of a new cell-based reporter assay for the Human Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor (GLP-1R), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family.

"A reliable GLP-1R assay is essential for researchers studying type 2 diabetes or obesity,” says Bruce Sherf, INDIGO’s Chief Technology Officer. “It offers valuable data that can inform the development of targeted treatments for these and other metabolism-related conditions."

The Human Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor is activated by the hormone GLP-1. The following signal cascade induces the production of calcium and in turn the production of insulin. Because GLP-1/GLP-1R mainly regulates insulin secretion in response to high blood glucose levels, it is a key regulator of metabolism. The GLP-1/GLP-1R interaction also controls satiety which indicates gut-brain axis regulation. This role in energy homeostasis makes GLP-1R a research target of interest in studies and therapies pertaining to type 2 diabetes or obesity.

INDIGO’s GLP-1R assay kit contains all of the materials needed to perform the assay, including cryopreserved optimized reporter cells, media for use in recovering the cryopreserved cells and for diluting test samples, a stock of the reference compound GLP-1, luciferase detection reagent, a cell culture-ready assay plate, and a detailed protocol. By providing all necessary assay reagents in one easy-to-use kit, INDIGO enables researchers to obtain high-quality data quickly. There is no need for researchers to procure individual components from multiple sources, painstakingly transfect and selectively propagate reporter cells, or optimize the assay.

What also sets INDIGO kits apart is their proprietary CryoMite™ cryo-preservation process, which eliminates weeks of cell-culture work, allowing researchers to get reliable data quickly. This process allows scientists to immediately dispense healthy, division-competent reporter cells into the assay-ready plates. There is no need for cumbersome intermediate treatment steps such as spin and rinse of cells, viability determinations, or cell titer adjustments prior to assay setup. Simply thaw and plate the reporter cells, add test compounds and detection reagents, and obtain assay results in as little as 24 hours.

INDIGO’s Human Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor (GLP-1R) assay is available as an all-inclusive kit in 96-well and 384-well assay formats. Bulk volumes of assay reagents are also available to accommodate high throughput screening applications. INDIGO also performs this and all of its receptor assays in its own lab as a convenient and economical service for researchers worldwide.