Monitoring opioid receptor dimerization in living cells by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)

none1noBioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) is a natural phenomenon that has been successfully applied for the study of protein–protein interactions, including opioid receptor oligomers. The discovery of opioid receptor homomers and heteromers has brought to the fi nding of new functions and new way of signaling and traffi cking; therefore, opioid receptor oligomers may be considered as novel drug targets. Fusing receptors of interest with Renilla luciferase and with a fl uorescent protein (such as EYFP), it is possible to study opioid receptor dimerization using BRET.mixedBaiula, MonicaBaiula, Monic