# Ex vivo single molecule tools to analyze membrane receptor dynamics

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2022 · $303,268

## Abstract

Membrane receptors play a crucial role in many physiological processes throughout the body by
mediating communication between cells. Single molecule imaging has been used extensively to
study membrane receptor assembly and stoichiometry in vitro using isolated protein and to a
lesser extent cell culture. While studies in isolated cellular systems provide insight into many
processes, they lack the context of the complex environment present in an animal where
communication between cell types residing in tissue is critical for receptor activity. Single-
molecule imaging of native proteins synthesized in vivo would provide a direct approach to
measure processes, such as receptor dimerization, that regulate physiological activity. However,
current methods are not capable of applying single molecule techniques to study the regulation
of protein dynamics taking place within the complex environment of an animal. We have made
recent advances in the development of ex vivo single molecule techniques to monitor changes in
protein assembly that occur within specific organs. The goal of this proposal is to develop and
validate ex vivo single molecule tools that provide new capabilities to monitor the properties of
oligomeric membrane receptor assembly, resolve cell type and subcellular region specific single
membrane receptors, and automate single molecule data analysis using a machine learning
platform. This novel ex vivo technology will enable researchers to take a snap shot in time of the
membrane receptor dynamics that took place in the mouse and monitor changes in membrane
receptor assembly in response to changes in the animal's physiological environment such as
disease and exposure to therapeutics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10412092
- **Project number:** 5R01GM138837-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher I Richards
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $303,268
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-06-03 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10412092

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10412092, Ex vivo single molecule tools to analyze membrane receptor dynamics (5R01GM138837-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10412092. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*