Name: preparation of nucleosome core particles complexed with dna repair factors for cryo-electron microscopy structural determination
Uploaded: 2022-08-17T13:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Preparation of Nucleosome Core Particles Complexed with DNA Repair Factors for Cryo-Electron Microscopy Structural Determination at JoVE.com

We thank Dr. Mario Borgnia from the cryo-EM core at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Dr. Joshua Strauss from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for their mentorship and training in the cryo-EM grid preparation. We also thank Dr. Juliana Mello Da Fonseca Rezende for technical assistance in the initial stages of this project. We appreciate the key contribution and support of the late Dr. Samuel H. Wilson and his lab members, especially Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Dr. Joonas Jamsen for the purification of the genetically fused APE1-Pol&#946; complex. Research has been supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [grant numbers Z01ES050158, Z01ES050159, and K99ES031662-01].

1. Assemble nucleosome core particles via salt-gardient dialysis
NOTE: The preparation of nucleosome core particles using recombinant histone proteins for structural studies has been extensively described in detail by others14,15,16. Follow the purification of recombinant X. laevis histones and histone octamer assembly described by others14,<s...

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A specific protocol for purifying the DNA repair factor will be dependent on the enzyme of interest. However, there are some general recommendations, including the use of recombinant methods for protein expression and purification18; if the protein of interest is too small (&#60;50 kDa), structure determination by cryo-EM had been nearly impossible until more recently through the use of fusion systems19, nanobody-binding scaffolds20, and optimizing i...

Eukaryotic DNA is organized and compacted by histone proteins, forming chromatin. The nucleosome core particle (NCP) constitutes the fundamental repeating unit of chromatin that regulates accessibility to DNA-binding proteins for DNA repair, transcription, and replication1. Although the first X-ray crystal structure of the NCP was first solved more than two decades ago2 and many more structures of the NCP have been published since3,4,5,6, DNA repair mechanisms in nucleosomal substrates have not yet been delineated. Uncovering the molecular details underlying DNA repair in chromatin will require structural characterization of the participating components to understand how local structural features of the NCP regulate DNA repair activities. This is particularly important in the context of base excision repair (BER) given that biochemical studies with BER enzymes suggest unique DNA repair mechanisms in nucleosomes that are dependent on enzyme-specific structural requirements for catalysis and the structural position of the DNA lesion within the nucleosome7,8,9,10,11,12,13. Given that BER is a vital DNA repair process, there is considerable interest to fill in these gaps while also establishing a starting point from which other technically feasible structural studies involving relevant nucleosomal complexes can be carried out.
Cryo-EM is rapidly becoming the method of choice for solving the three-dimensional (3D) structure of complexes whose large-scale preparation of homogeneous sample is challenging. Although, the design and purification of NCPs complexed with a DNA repair factor (NCP-DRF) will likely necessitate tailored optimization, the procedure presented here to generate and freeze a stable NCP-DRF complex provides details on how to optimize the sample and cryo-EM grid preparation. Two workflows (not mutually exclusive) shown in Figure 1, and the specific details in the protocol identify critical steps and provide strategies for optimizing these steps. This work will propel the chromatin and DNA repair field in a direction where complementing biochemical with structural studies becomes technically feasible to better understand the molecular mechanisms of nucleosomal DNA repair.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1 M HEPES; pH 7.5</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>15630080</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1 M MgCl2</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>AM9530G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10x TBE</td>
			<td>Bio-rad</td>
			<td>1610733</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>25% glutaraldehyde</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>50-262-23</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3 M KCl</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>043398.K2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>491 prep cell</td>
			<td>Bio-rad</td>
			<td>1702926</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Amicon Ultra 15 centrifugal filter (MW cutoff 30 kDa)</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>Z717185</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Amicon Ultra 4 centrifugal filter (MW cutoff 30 kDa)</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>UFC8030</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>AutoGrid Tweezers</td>
			<td>Ted Pella</td>
			<td>47000-600</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Automatic Plunge Freezer</td>
			<td>Leica</td>
			<td>Leica EM GP</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>C-1000 touch thermocycler</td>
			<td>Bio-rad</td>
			<td>1851148</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>C-clips and rings</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>6640--6640</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clipping station</td>
			<td>SubAngostrom</td>
			<td>SCT08</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dialysis Membrane (MW cufoff 6-8 kDa)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>15370752</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Diamond Tweezers</td>
			<td>Techni-Pro</td>
			<td>758TW0010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dsDNA</td>
			<td>Integrated DNA techonologies</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FEI Titan Krios</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>KRIOSG4TEM</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FPLC purification system</td>
			<td>AKTA Pure</td>
			<td>29018224</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fraction collector Model 2110</td>
			<td>Bio-rad</td>
			<td>7318122</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glow Discharge Cleaning System</td>
			<td>Ted Pella</td>
			<td>91000S</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Grid Boxes</td>
			<td>SubAngostrom</td>
			<td>PB-E</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Grid Storage Accessory Pack</td>
			<td>SubAngostrom</td>
			<td>GSAX</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Liquid Ethane</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Liquid Nitrogen</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Minipuls 3 peristaltic two-head pump</td>
			<td>Gilson</td>
			<td>F155008</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nanodrop</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>ND-2000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Novex 16%, Tricine, 1.0 mm, Mini Protein Gels</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>EC6695BOX</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pipetman</td>
			<td>Gilson</td>
			<td>FA10002M</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pipette tips (VWR) Low Retention</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>76322-528</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Polyacrylamide gel solution (37.5:1)</td>
			<td>Bio-rad</td>
			<td>1610158</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>polyethylene glycol (PEG)</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>P4338-500G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pur-A-lyzer Maxi 3500</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>PURX35050</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Purified recombinant DNA repair factor</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>R 1.2/1.3 Cu 300 mesh Grids</td>
			<td>Quantifoil</td>
			<td>N1-C14nCu30-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recombinant histone octamer</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Spring clipping tools</td>
			<td>SubAngostrom</td>
			<td>CSA-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Superdex 200 column 10/300</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>GE28-9909-44</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Transmission Electron Microscope</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>Talos Arctica 200 kV</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tweezers Assembly for FEI Vitrobot Mark IV-I</td>
			<td>Ted Pella</td>
			<td>47000-500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>UltraPure Glycerol</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>15514011</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vitrobot</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>Mark IV System</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Whatman Filter paper (55 mM)</td>
			<td>Cytiva</td>
			<td>1005-055</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Xylene cyanol</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>440700500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Zeba Micro Spin Desalting Columns, 7K MWCO, 75 &#181;L</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>89877</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

preparation of nucleosome core particles complexed with dna repair factors for cryo-electron microscopy structural determination

DNA repair in the context of chromatin is poorly understood. Biochemical studies using nucleosome core particles, the fundamental repeating unit of chromatin, show most DNA repair enzymes remove DNA damage at reduced rates as compared to free DNA. The molecular details on how base excision repair (BER) enzymes recognize and remove DNA damage in nucleosomes have not been elucidated. However, biochemical BER data of nucleosomal substrates suggest the nucleosome presents different structural barriers dependent on the location of the DNA lesion and the enzyme. This indicates the mechanisms employed by these enzymes to remove DNA damage in free DNA may be different than those employed in nucleosomes. Given that the majority of genomic DNA is assembled into nucleosomes, structural information of these complexes is needed. To date, the scientific community lacks detailed protocols to perform technically feasible structural studies of these complexes. Here, we provide two methods to prepare a complex of two genetically fused BER enzymes (Polymerase &#946; and AP Endonuclease1) bound to a single-nucleotide gap near the entry-exit of the nucleosome for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structural determination. Both methods of sample preparation are compatible for vitrifying quality grids via plunge freezing. This protocol can be used as a starting point to prepare other nucleosomal complexes with different BER factors, pioneer transcription factors, and chromatin-modifying enzymes.

Properly assembled NCPs (Figure 2) were used to make a complex with a recombinant fusion protein of MBP-Pol&#946;-APE1 (Figure 3). To determine the ratio of NCP to MBP-Pol&#946;-APE1 to form a stable complex, we performed electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) (Figure 4), which showed a singly shifted band of the NCP with 5-fold molar excess of MBP-Pol&#946;-APE1. During the optimization of making this complex, crosslinking wi...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Preparation of Nucleosome Core Particles Complexed with DNA Repair Factors for Cryo-Electron Microscopy Structural Determination at JoVE.com

Preparation of Nucleosome Core Particles Complexed with DNA Repair Factors for Cryo-Electron Microscopy Structural Determination

This protocol outlines in detail the preparation of nucleosomal complexes using two methods of sample preparation for freezing TEM grids.

DNA repair in the context of chromatin is poorly understood. Biochemical studies using nucleosome core particles, the fundamental repeating unit of ...

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A Robust Single-Particle Cryo-Electron Microscopy cryo-EM Processing Workflow with cryoSPARC, RELION, and Scipion

Recent advances in both instrumentation and image processing software have made single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) the preferred method ...

Extracting Modified Microtubules from Mammalian Cells to Study Microtubule-Protein Complexes by Cryo-Electron Microscopy

Microtubules are an important part of the cytoskeleton and are involved in intracellular organization, cell division, and migration. Depending on the ...

Coating CryoEM Grids with Monolayer Graphene to Improve Cryo-Sample Preparation

Application of Monolayer Graphene to Cryo-Electron Microscopy Grids for High-resolution Structure Determination

Enhancing CryoEM Sample Preparation Using Graphene Monolayer on Microscopy Grids (Video) | JoVE

In cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM), purified macromolecules are applied to a grid bearing a holey carbon foil; the molecules are then blotted to ...