2(3)-O-(N-MethylanthraniloylG-proteins are heterotrimeric (␣␥-structure) and serve as signal transducers between agonist-occupied GPCRs 1 and effector systems (1, 2). GPCR promotes GDP dissociation from G␣. GDP dissociation is the rate-limiting step of the G-protein cycle. Agonist-occupied GPCR then forms a ternary complex with guanine nucleotide-free G-protein. Thereafter, GPCR catalyzes GTP binding to G␣. G␣ GTP dissociates from GPCR, thereby disrupting the ternary complex. In addition, G␣ GTP and ␥ dissociate from each other, and both G␣ GTP and ␥ regulate the activity of effector systems. G-proteins are deactivated by the GTPase of G␣ that cleaves GTP into GDP and P i . The GTP hydrolysis-resistant GTP analogs GTP␥S and GppNHp ( Fig. 1) induce persistent G-protein activation as does AlF 4 Ϫ , the latter mimicking the transition state of GTP hydrolysis as GDP-AlF 4 Ϫ complex (1, 3, 4). The hydrolysisresistant GDP analog GDPS (Fig. 1) is a partial G-protein activator (5, 6).Nucleotides substituted with a MANT group at the 2Ј(3Ј)-Oposition of the ribosyl residue are fluorescent and widely used for the kinetic analysis of enzymes and signaling proteins (7). However, only few studies with MANT-nucleotides and G-proteins have been conducted so far, and the data are controversial. MANT-GTP␥S and MANT-GppNHp (Fig. 1) bind to purified G o -proteins with higher affinity than to G i -proteins, and the MANT group does not have an effect on the affinity of GTP␥S for purified G␣ i1 (8, 9). The maximum fluorescence of G i /G o -proteins induced by MANT-GTP␥S is higher than the maximum fluorescence induced by MANT-GppNHp, suggesting that the two nucleotides stabilize different conformations in G-proteins (8, 10). Moreover, like GTP␥S/GppNHp, MANT-GTP␥S/MANT-GppNHp confer protease protection to G i /G oproteins (8). In contrast to the observations made with G i /G oproteins, the MANT group substantially reduces the affinity of GTP for the retinal G-protein transducin, and MANT-GTP is ineffective at activating the effector of transducin, cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase (11). To the best of our knowledge, the effects of MANT-nucleotides on G s -proteins have not yet been studied.The goal of our study was to learn more about the functional effects of MANT-GTP␥S/MANT-GppNHp on G s -and G i -protein-mediated signaling. As models we used fusion proteins and co-expression systems of the  2 AR with the G␣ s -proteins, G␣ sL , G␣ sS , or G␣ olf (12-14), fusion proteins, and co-expression systems of the FPR with the G␣ i -proteins, G␣ i1 , G␣ i2 , or G␣ i3 * This work was supported by Army Research Office Grant DAAD19-00-1-0069, The J. R. and Inez Jay Biomedical Research Award of the University of Kansas (to R. S.), and a predoctoral fellowship from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes (to A. G.). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.‡ To...