Radioligand Binding to Nanodisc-Reconstituted Membrane Transporters Assessed by the Scintillation Proximity Assay

The scintillation proximity assay is a powerful technique for measuring radioligand binding to membrane transporters and has become an integral part of high-throughput drug discovery screening efforts. Here we adapt the method for use with purified LeuT, a prokaryotic secondary transporter, reconstituted into phospholipid bilayer nanodiscs. This application surmounts potential challenges with background interference from endogenously expressed proteins, aggregation and loss of binding activity often accompanying detergent solubilization from native cell membranes, and heterogeneity in size and transporter orientation, where at least some ligand binding sites are inaccessible, associated with reconstitution into lipid vesicles.