Reassessment of antibody-based detection of the murine T cell GLP-1 receptor.

Wong CK., Yusta B., Tong JCL., Broichhagen J., Hodson DJ., Drucker DJ.

Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists exhibit anti-inflammatory actions, yet the importance of direct immune cell GLP-1R signaling remains uncertain. Although T cells respond to GLP-1, low receptor abundance and suboptimal antisera complicate efforts to characterize immune cell GLP-1R signaling. Here, we evaluate three frequently utilized GLP-1R antibodies, revealing that one of several antibodies, AGR-021, lack ideal specificity for detecting the GLP-1R in mice. Immunostaining with AGR-021 using tissues from two independent GLP-1R knockout mouse lines reveals persistent immunoreactive signals in GLP-1R-null pancreatic islets. Similarly, flow cytometry using AGR-021 reveals no reduction in AGR-021 immunoreactivity in GLP-1R-null splenic T cells. Moreover, western blotting detects AGR-021-immunoreactive proteins from a GLP-1R-negative cell line and fails to detect immunoreactive GLP-1R of the correct size upon overexpression of the receptor. Our findings reveal caveats governing use of multiple widely used GLP-1R antibodies, reemphasizing the importance of rigorous antibody validation for inferring accurate GLP-1R expression.

DOI

10.1016/j.cmet.2025.06.012

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2025-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

37

Pages

1783 - 1788

Total pages

5

Keywords

Animals, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor, Mice, Mice, Knockout, T-Lymphocytes, Antibodies, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Flow Cytometry

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