An Acetyl-Click Chemistry Assay to Measure Histone Acetyltransferase 1 Acetylation

Summary

Quick and accurate chemical assays to screen for specific inhibitors are an important tool in the drug development arsenal. Here, we present a scalable acetyl-click chemistry assay to measure the inhibition of HAT1 acetylation activity.

Abstract

HAT1, also known as Histone acetyltransferase 1, plays a crucial role in chromatin synthesis by stabilizing and acetylating nascent H4 before nucleosome assembly. It is required for tumor growth in various systems, making it a potential target for cancer treatment. To facilitate the identification of compounds that can inhibit HAT1 enzymatic activity, we have devised an acetyl-click assay for rapid screening. In this simple assay, we employ recombinant HAT1/Rbap46, which is purified from activated human cells. The method utilizes the acetyl-CoA analog 4-pentynoyl-CoA (4P) in a click-chemistry approach. This involves the enzymatic transfer of an alkyne handle through a HAT1-dependent acylation reaction to a biotinylated H4 N-terminal peptide. The captured peptide is then immobilized on neutravidin plates, followed by click-chemistry functionalization with biotin-azide. Subsequently, streptavidin-peroxidase recruitment is employed to oxidize amplex red, resulting in a quantitative fluorescent output. By introducing chemical inhibitors during the acylation reaction, we can quantify enzymatic inhibition based on a reduction of the fluorescence signal. Importantly, this reaction is scalable, allowing for high throughput screening of potential inhibitors for HAT1 enzymatic activity.

Introduction

Among the numerous eukaryotic acetyltransferases, HAT1 was the initial histone acetyltransferase to be isolated^1,2,3. Subsequent investigations have firmly established its pivotal role in chromatin replication, particularly in the synthesis of new nucleosomes during S-phase⁴. Our research endeavors led to the recognition that HAT1 is highly stimulated by epidermal growth factor (EGF) treatment in mammary cells⁵. Furthermore, it has come to light that HAT1 is required for rapid cell proliferation and tumor formation in vivo

Protocol

1. Method 1: Producing and purifying recombinant HAT1/Rbap46 complex

1. Thawing, recovering, and expanding HEK293f cells
   1. Thaw 1-10 million HEK293f mammalian cells²⁶ into 30 mL freestyle 293 expression media in a 100 mL flask. Incubate in 8% CO₂ at 37 °C while rotating at 60 rpm.
   2. The next day, count and check cell viability, then adjust rotation speed to 120 rpm. Expand to 300 mL culture in a 1 L flask, maintaining seeding density at .......

Discussion

In the past decade, click chemistry became prominent²⁰, enabling the precise design of interacting chemical structures. Within this context, various bioorthogonal covalent connections²¹ have emerged as promising options for forming complexes in their natural environment. Click chemistry employs pairs of functional groups that exhibit rapid and selective reactions, commonly known as "click reactions." These reactions occur efficiently in environmentally friendly, gen.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
4P CoA	Cayman Chemical	10547	Click chemistry co-factor
Amplex Red	Fisher Sci	A12222	Fluorescence substrate
Biotin-PEG-Azide	Alfa Aesar	J64996MC	Click chemistry
Copper Sulfate	Sigma-aldrich	7758-98-7	Click chemistry
DMSO	Fisher Scientific	67-68-5	diluent
DTT	Acros Organics	03-12-3483	reducting agent
Forskolin	VWR	102987-310	Protein expression
Freestyle 293 Expression Medium	Thermo Fisher	12338018	Media
Freestyle 293-F cells	Thermo Fisher	R790-07	Protein expression
H4-peptide/1-23-GGK-biotin	Anaspec	AS65097	peptide substrate
HEPES	Sigma-aldrich	7365-45-9	EB buffer
Hydrogen peroxide 30% solution	Sigma-aldrich	Z00183-99-0	initiator
M2 FLAG antibody slurry	Millipore-Sigma	A2220	Protein purification
Macrosep 10K Filter (Pall Lab)	VWR	89131-980	Protein purification
Neutravidin Plate	Thermo Sci	15127	BSA-pre-blocked
NP40 (IGEPAL)	MP Biomedical	198596	20x buffer
pHEK-293 plasmid	Takara Bio	3390	Protein expression
Phosphate Buffered Saline 10x	Alfa Aesar	Z00082-33-6	wash buffer
Pra peptide	Genscript	Custom synthesis	biotinylated
Sodium Ascorbate	Sigma-aldrich	134-03-2	Click chemistry
Sodium chloride	Sigma-aldrich	7647-14-5	EB buffer
Sodium phosphate	VWR International	7558-80-7	buffer
Streptavidin	EMD Millipore	189730	competitor
Streptavidin-HRP	Cell Signaling	3999S	enzyme
THPTA ligand	Fisher Sci	1010-500	Click chemistry
Tris base	Sigma-aldrich	77-86-1	20x buffer
Triton-X 100	VWR International	9002-93-1	EB buffer
Tween-20	Sigma-aldrich	9005-64-5	Wash buffer
Urea	Sigma-Aldrich	57-13-6	quencher