Glucocorticoid Receptor Bioassay for Environmental Sample Monitoring

Target Background

The glucocorticoid receptor is the receptor that cortisol and other glucocorticoids bind to. The GR is expressed in almost every cell in the body and regulates genes controlling the development, metabolism, and immune response.

INDIGO’s Glucocorticoid Receptor Assay System utilize proprietary mammalian reporter cells engineered to provide constitutive high-level expression of full-length, unmodified human NR3C1 protein, commonly referred to as GR.

INDIGO’s Reporter Cells include the luciferase reporter gene functionally linked to a GR-responsive promoter. Thus, quantifying changes in luciferase expression in the treated reporter cells provides a sensitive surrogate measure of the changes in GR activity. Luciferase gene expression occurs after ligand-bound GR undergoes nuclear translocation, DNA binding, recruitment, and assembly of the co-activators and accessory factors required to forma functional transcription complex, culminating in expression of the reporter gene. Unlike some other cell-based assay strategies, the readout from INDIGO’s reporter cells demands the same orchestration of all intracellular molecular interactions and events that can be expected to occur in vivo.

The principle application of this assay product is in the screening of test samples to quantify functional activities, either agonist or antagonist, that they may exert against the human androgen receptor.