Mineralocorticoid Receptor (MR; NR3C2)
| Product Family | Product Number | Product Description | Technical Manual |
| IB0050 MR (NR3C2) |
IB00501-32 | Human MR Reporter Assay System, 3 x 32 assays in 96-well format | Technical Manual |
| IB00501 | Human MR Reporter Assay System, 1 x 96-well format assays | Technical Manual | |
| IB00502 | Human MR Reporter Assay System, 1 x 384-well format assays |
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Assay Kit 
This Mineralocorticoid Receptor (MR) assay kit is an all-inclusive MR reporter assay system that includes, in addition to MR Reporter Cells, two optimized media for use during cell culture and (optionally) in diluting the test samples, a reference agonist, Luciferase Detection Reagent, a cell culture-ready assay plate, and a detailed protocol.
INDIGO’s cell-based reporter assays allow scientists to detect any biological activity that their test samples may exert against a specific receptor present in the cell. They utilize firefly luciferase reporter gene technology which provides superior precision and sensitivity. Since the receptor binding controls the expression of the luciferase reporter gene, luciferase activity in the cells can be correlated directly with the activity of the receptor. The strength of an interaction of a chemical with the target receptor is quantified using a luminometer to measure the level of light emitted.
Fast, reproducible, easy-to-analyze results are only four steps away
Many luciferase reporter assays require the user to grow their own cells and take time to optimize the results. INDIGO’s reporter cells contain the receptor of interest and the luciferase reporter gene. Reporter cells have been optimized to provide extreme sensitivity to quantify even small changes in receptor activity. With INDIGO’s cell-based reporter assays, the process is as easy as Thaw, Feed, Dose, and Read.
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Reporter Cells
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Reporter Cells are prepared using INDIGO’s proprietary CryoMite™ process. This proprietary cryopreservation process, enables long-term preservation of our unique reporter cells, so we can ship our cryopreserved reporter cells and assay reagents to you via overnight delivery, for your immediate use. Or, you can store the assay kits at -80°C. Once thawed, reporter cells are ready for immediate use so there is no need to take time on intermediate spin-and-wash steps, viability determinations, or cell titer adjustments.
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Luciferase Reporter
INDIGO’s Mineralocorticoid Receptor assay kits feature a luciferase detection reagent specially formulated to provide stable light emission between 5 and 90+ minutes after initiating the luciferase reaction. Incorporating a 5-minute reaction-rest period ensures that light emission profiles attain maximal stability, thereby allowing assay plates to be processed in batch. By doing so, the signal output from all sample wells, from one plate to the next, may be directly compared within an experimental set.
Bulk assay reagents can be custom manufactured to accommodate any scale of HTS. Please inquire.
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Assay Services
The primary application of INDIGO’s cell-based Mineralocorticoid Receptor assays are to quantitatively assess the bioactivity of a test compound as an agonist (activator) or antagonist (inhibition of an agonist response) of the Human Mineralocorticoid Receptor. Service assays include a positive control reference compound and ‘vehicle’ control for every experiment. A formal study report and all data files are provided to the client upon completion of the study. To receive a quote for your proposed study, complete & submit the online “Request a Quote” form or contact an INDIGO Customer Service Representative to discuss your desired study parameters.
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Background
The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), also called aldosterone receptor, is a receptor with high affinity for mineralocorticoids. It belongs to the steroid hormone receptor family where the ligand diffuses into cells, interacts with the receptor, and results in a signal transduction affecting specific gene expression in the nucleus. The gene for the NR3C2 (located on chromosome 4q31.1-31.2) encodes for the 107 kDa MR protein.
MR is expressed in many tissues, such as the kidney, colon, heart, central nervous system (hippocampus), brown adipose tissue, and sweat glands. In epithelial tissues, its activation leads to the expression of proteins regulating ionic and water transports (mainly the epithelial sodium channel or ENaC, Na+/K+ pump, serum and glucocorticoid induced kinase or SGK1) resulting in the reabsorption of sodium, and as a consequence an increase in extracellular volume, increase in blood pressure, and an excretion of potassium to maintain a normal salt concentration in the body.
The receptor is activated by mineralocorticoids such as aldosterone and deoxycorticosterone as well as glucocorticoids, like cortisol and cortison. It also responds to some progestins. Spironolactone and eplerenone are mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. Activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor, upon the binding of its ligand aldosterone, results in its translocation to the cell nucleus, homodimerization and binding to hormone response elements present in the promoter of some genes. This results in the complex recruitment of the transcriptional machinery and the transcription into mRNA of the DNA sequence of the activated genes.
INDIGO's Mineralocorticoid Receptor Reporter Assay Systems utilize proprietary mammalian cells engineered to express human NR3C2 protein, commonly referred to as MR.
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 mineralocorticoid receptor.
For more information on MR, visit the Nuclear Receptor Resource.
Synonyms: Mineralocorticoid Receptor, MR, Human Mineralocorticoid Receptor, Human MR, NR3C2
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Assay Data
Agonist dose-response analyses of the Human MR. Analyses of MR Reporter Cells using Aldosterone (provided), Cortisol and Dexamethasone (Cayman Chemical). Concentrated stocks of agonists were prepared in DMSO, then serially diluted using CSM. Final assay concentrations for each agonist were: 4000, 1000, 250, 62.5, 15.6, 3.91, 0.977 and 0 pM. Luminescence was quantified and average relative light units (RLU) and corresponding standard deviation (SD), % coefficient of variation (%CV), and Relative Percent Activation were determined for each treatment concentration (n = 4). Z’ values were calculated as described by Zhang, et al. (1999). GraphPad Prism software was used to perform the least squares method of non-linear regression and to determine EC50 values. The low %CV and high Z' score confirm the robust performance of this MR Assay and its suitability for HTS Applications.
Human MR antagonist assay performance was validated using the reference antagonists Canrenone (Cayman Chemical), Spironolactone, RU26752, RU28318 and Eplerenone (all from Tocris). Assay setup and quantification of MR activity were performed following the protocol described in this Technical Manual. Human MR Reporter cells were co-treated with a fixed ~EC80 concentration of Aldosterone (140 pM) and varying concentrations of the respective antagonist compounds. 'No antagonist' controls were included. Assay plates were incubated for 22 hours, then processed to quantify MR activity for each treatment condition.
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Assay Research Areas
Steroid Receptor; CNS, Circadian and Basal Metabolism; Autoimmune Disease; Endocrinology