Coelenterazine-v ligated to Ca2+-triggered coelenterazine-binding protein is a stable and efficient substrate of the red-shifted mutant of Renilla muelleri luciferase

It has been shown that the coelenterazine analog, coelenterazine-v, is an efficient substrate for a reaction catalyzed by Renilla luciferase. The resulting bioluminescence emission maximum is shifted to a longer wavelength up to 40 nm, which allows the use of some “yellow” Renilla luciferase mutants for in vivo imaging. However, the utility of coelenterazine-v in small-animal imaging has been hampered by its instability in solution and in biological tissues. To overcome this drawback, we ligated coelenterazine-v to Ca²⁺-triggered coelenterazine-binding protein from Renilla muelleri, which apparently functions in the organism for stabilizing and protecting coelenterazine from oxidation. The coelenterazine-v bound within coelenterazine-binding protein has revealed a greater long-term stability at both 4 and 37 °C. In addition, the coelenterazine-binding protein ligated by coelenterazine-v yields twice the total light over free coelenterazine-v as a substrate for the red-shifted R. muelleri luciferase. These findings suggest the possibility for effective application of coelenterazine-v in various in vitro assays.