Name: proteome-wide quantification of labeling homogeneity at the single molecule level
Uploaded: 2019-04-19T13:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Proteome-wide Quantification of Labeling Homogeneity at the Single Molecule Level at JoVE.com

The authors thank Masae Ohno and Kazuya Nishimura for experimental assistance and advice. This work was supported by PRESTO (JPMJPR15F7), Japan Science and Technology Agency, Grants-in-aid for Young Scientists (A) (24687022), Challenging Exploratory Research (26650055), and Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (23115005), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and by grants from the Takeda Science Foundation and the Mochida Memorial Foundation for Medical and Pharmaceutical Research. S.L. acknowledges support from the RIKEN International Program Associate (IPA) program.

1. Cell preparation
<ol>
	<li>Cultivate HeLa cells in a 10 cm dish at 37 &#176;C under 5% CO2 in Dulbecco&#8217;s modified Eagle&#8217;s medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum.</li>
	<li>Collect exponentially growing cells once they have reached 70% confluency, following ATCC instructions17.
	<ol>
		<li>Rinse cells with 5 mL of 1x phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (pH 7.4). Remove PBS.</li>
		<li>Add 1 mL of 0.1% trypsin-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Incubate 5 min at 37 &#1...

<ol>
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This paper describes a protocol to quantify the labeling homogeneity of each labeled protein species in cells after separation with SDS-PAGE (step 3). The separation method can be substituted with other methods such as liquid chromatography or capillary electrophoresis, which allow separation and fractionation of cellular proteins with high resolution, while requiring special equipment23. The labeling method using NHS-ester in the current protocol can be replaced with other methods using maleimide...

Proteome analysis, which aims to quantify the entire set of protein molecules expressed in the cell, is a valuable approach in current biological and medicinal studies. This analysis commonly relies on mass spectrometry, which identifies protein species based on spectra generated through protein ionization1,2,3. An alternative method for proteome analysis is electrophoresis, including polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), capillary electrophoresis and two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis. This method relies on non-specific fluorescent labeling of all the protein molecules in the analyzed cells, followed by electrophoretic separation and detection and quantification of each protein species. To achieve the required non-specific protein labeling, one strategy is to use fluorescent dyes that can bind to proteins via electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, such as Coomassie Blue and Sypro-Ruby4,5,6. An alternative strategy is to use covalent labeling with dyes containing N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester or maleimide, which can covalently bind to proteins through common residues such as primary amines and thiols, respectively7,8.
Meanwhile, the sensitivity of fluorescence detection is ideal for analyzing low-abundance proteins and small numbers of cells. Single molecule fluorescence imaging is one of the most sensitive methods that allows the detection of individual fluorescent dyes and labeled proteins in vitro and in vivo9,10,11,12,13,14,15. Application of this imaging method to electrophoresis-based proteome analysis is expected to enable highly sensitive and quantitative assays by counting individual fluorescently-labeled proteins. However, it remains unclear whether labeling with fluorescent dyes is homogeneous enough across all the protein molecules, and how this homogeneity is affected by different protein species (Figure 1). Simple bulk solution measurements can be used to obtain a molar ratio of fluorescent dyes to proteins called &#8216;coupling efficiency&#8217;8 or &#8216;labeling efficiency&#8217;, but this property does not provide information on the homogeneity of the labeling among protein molecules.
Here, we describe the protocol for an assay to investigate the labeling homogeneity for all protein species in the cell (Figure 2)16. The two key steps of this assay are protein purification and imaging. In the first step, all the proteins in the cells are fluorescently labeled and biotinylated, then extracted separately using gel electrophoresis followed by electroelution. In the second step, fluorescence properties of individual protein molecules in the extracted samples are evaluated based on single molecule imaging. From this data, parameters important for the counting analysis, such as the percentage of proteins labeled with a least one dye, which we call labeling occupancy (LO)16, and the average number of fluorescent dyes bound to a single protein molecule (n&#772;dye), can be characterized. In the protocol, an optimized procedure for labeling the HeLa cell proteome with NHS ester-based Cyanine 3 (Cy3) dye is presented as an example, and can be modified with other labeling procedures according to desired research goals.

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	<tbody>
		<tr height="24">
			<td height="24" style="height:24px;width:216px;">22x22x0.15 mm coverslip</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">VWR</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">470019-004</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">488 nm Argon laser</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Coherent</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">Innova 70C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">488 nm dichroic mirror</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Semrock</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">FF495-Di03</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">488 nm emission filter</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Semrock</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">FF02-520/28</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">560 nm dichroic filter</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Semrock</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">Di02-R561</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">560 nm emission filter</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Semrock</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">FF02-617/73</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:216px;">560 nm fiber laser</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">MBP Communications</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">F-04306-2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">60x oil immersion lens</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Olympus</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">PLAPON 60x</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Avidin</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Nacalai-tesque</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">03553-64</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:216px;">Biotin-PEG-amine</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">21346</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Biotinylated Alexa Fluor 488</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Nanocs</td>
			<td style="width:136px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Borate</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Nacalai-tesque</td>
			<td style="width:136px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">BSA</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">A9547</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">CHAPS</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Dojindo</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">C008-10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Cy3 NHS-ester dye</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">GE Healthcare</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">PA13101</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Dialyzer&#160; - D-tube, 6-8 kDa</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Merck Millipore</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">71507-M</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">DMEM</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:136px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">DTT</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Nacalai-tesque</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">14112-94</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">EDC</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Nacalai-tesque</td>
			<td style="width:136px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">EMCCD camera</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Andor</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">IiXon 897</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Epi fluorescence microscope</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Olympus</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">IX81</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="24">
			<td height="24" style="height:24px;width:216px;">Gel viewer</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">GE Healthcare</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">ImageQuant LAS 4000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:216px;">Penicillin, streptomycine and Amphoterecin mix</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Gibco</td>
			<td style="width:136px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Plasma cleaner</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Diener Electronic</td>
			<td style="width:136px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">SDS</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Wako</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">NC0792960</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Size purification column 10K</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Merck Millipore</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">UFC5010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Tween 20</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:136px;">P9416</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

proteome-wide quantification of labeling homogeneity at the single molecule level

Cell proteomes are often characterized using electrophoresis assays, where all species of proteins in the cells are non-specifically labeled with a fluorescent dye and are spotted by a photodetector following their separation. Single molecule fluorescence imaging can provide ultrasensitive protein detection with its ability for visualizing individual fluorescent molecules. However, the application of this powerful imaging method to electrophoresis assays is hampered by the lack of ways to characterize the homogeneity of fluorescent labeling of each protein species across the proteome. Here, we developed a method to evaluate the labeling homogeneity across the proteome based on a single molecule fluorescence imaging assay. In our measurement using a HeLa cell sample, the proportion of proteins labeled with at least one dye, which we termed &#8216;labeling occupancy&#8217; (LO), was determined to range from 50% to 90%, supporting the high potential of the application of single molecule imaging to sensitive and precise proteome analysis.

Figure 4 represents raw image data for different molecular weight fractions of proteins from HeLa cell lysate, as well as the positive and negative control. While both the protein sample and positive control exhibit 100&#8211;500 spots per image, the negative control displays none or a few spots, showing that the protocol sufficiently inhibits non-specific binding of dyes to the coverslip surface. Spot intensity histograms for the protein samples and the posi...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Proteome-wide Quantification of Labeling Homogeneity at the Single Molecule Level at JoVE.com

Proteome-wide Quantification of Labeling Homogeneity at the Single Molecule Level

Here, we present a protocol to assess the labeling homogeneity for each protein species in a complex protein sample at the single molecule level.

Cell proteomes are often characterized using electrophoresis assays, where all species of proteins in the cells are non-specifically labeled with a ...

This method demonstrates the calibration of quantifying protein amount in liquid sample with single-molecule process for counting. Specifically, it can illustrate how protein populations can be fluorescently labeled at each molecule level. Previous methods performed bulk measurements to analyze molar ratios of fluorescent and protein molecules, but they cannot reveal how heterogeneously protein populations are actually labeled.Our methods can do it directly at the single-molecule level. Our method can be extended towards ultrasensitive and advanced molecular concentration assays, which will lead to future diagnostic methods, allowing efficient findings of pathogenic molecules in specimens. Our method can be applied to single protein species analysis using fluorescent antibodies, as well as multiple species analysis using non-specific labels for all the proteins separated by electrophoresis or chromatography.The most critical point of the technique is obtaining data reproducibility. I recommend keeping the same experimental condition as much as possible when measuring multiple samples. Visual demonstration of this technique will provide how to make each experimental step stable and reproducible.It will also show some uncommon step in biochemistry protocols, such as the spin-coating and washing of microscope coverslips. To begin this procedure, prepare the lysing buffer and 1%Tween-20 as outlined in the text protocol. Use sodium hydroxide to adjust the pH to 12.Mix 100 microliters of lysing buffer with one microliter of one molar DDT and four microliters of 50%CHAPS. Add one microliter of the prepared cell culture and homogenize the solution by slow pipetting to avoid bubbles. Incubate in the dark at room temperature for five minutes with gentle agitation.Then, rehomogenize the solution by pipetting it up and down slowly. Add one microgram of Cy3 NHS ester dye and homogenize the solution by slowing pipetting to avoid bubbles. Incubate in the dark at room temperature for 10 minutes with gentle agitation.Repeat this process, adding the same amount of dye and incubating the sample one time. Add 100 microliters of 0.8 molar HEPES-sodium hydroxide to adjust the pH of the solution to 7.2 and to quench the reaction. Slowly pipette up and down to homogenize the solution.Next, add 20 microliters of Biotin-2-amine and five microliters of EDC. Homogenize the solution by pipetting up and down slowly. Incubate in the dark at room temperature for one hour with gentle agitation.After this, use an ultrafiltration column with a 10 kiloDalton cutoff to remove any unreacted labeling reagents and concentrate the sample. After performing standard SDS-PAGE for the protein sample and a molecular ladder, image the gel to identify the location of the protein bands. Use a sharp blade to cut out the gel portions that include protein fractions of interest based on the bands'locations.First, set out coverslips that are 22 millimeters by 22 millimeters and are 0.15 millimeters thick. Use a plasma cleaner to expose the coverslips to air plasma for one minute to clean and activate their surfaces. Next, use a spin coater to spin coat the coverslips with 200 microliters of avadin buffer for five seconds at 500RPM, followed by 30 seconds at 1000RPM.Incubate the coverslips at room temperature for 15 minutes to let them air dry. To prepare coverslips for the protein sample, use a protein sample that has been diluted. Place 100 microliters of the diluted sample onto the center of the avadin-coated coverslips.Incubate in the dark at room temperature for 15 minutes. To prepare the positive control, place 100 microliters of purified fluorescent biotin in five micromolar HEPES-sodium hydroxide at pH 7.2 in the center of an avadin-coated coverslip. Incubate in the dark at room temperature for 15 minutes.To prepare the negative control, spin coat plasma coverslips with 200 microliters of five HEPES-sodium hydroxide with two milligrams per milliliter of BSA without avadin. Add 100 microliters to purified fluorescent biotin in five micromolar HEPES-sodium hydroxide at pH 7.2. Incubate in the dark for 15 minutes at room temperature.After this, rinse each coverslip with 200 microliters of distilled water by pipetting at the edges, making sure to not touch the middle of the coverslip with the pipette tip. Repeat this wash three times. Then, expose an equal number of new coverslips to air plasma for one minute.Place a cleaned coverslip on top of each sample-bound coverslip to avoid drying. Start up a wide-field or evanescent field fluorescence microscope. Set a coverslip onto the microscope and find the focus.Then, perform a tile scan to obtain at least 100 images. In this study, the labeling homogeneity of each labeled protein species in cells is quantified after separation with SDS-PAGE. The raw image data for different molecular weight fractions of proteins from HeLa cell lysate, as well as the positive and negative controls, are seen here.While both the protein sample and the positive control exhibit between 100 and 500 spots per image, the negative control exhibits very few to none. This shows that the process sufficiently inhibits non-specific binding of dyes to the coverslip surface. Spot intensity histograms for the protein samples and the positive control present multiple peaks, which represent the stochastic binding of dyes to primary amines in proteins and avadin tetramer structures respectively.All spots showed blinking and stepwise photobleaching with continuous laser excitation, highlighting observation at the single molecule level. The labeling occupancy, or LO, is then calculated from the ratio of the number of spots in every protein sample to that in the positive control. The LO measured from the HeLa cell lysate sample ranges from 50%for the smaller molecular weight fraction, to 90%for the higher molecular weight fraction.The LO for the whole proteome sample without separation is seen to be 72%It is critical to use freshly made reagents and to avoid any dust, especially during the preparation of the coverslips. Following this procedure, single molecule counting analysis in a certain volume can be performed to quantify each protein's concentrations. For example, analysis on any raw product, or gel and capillary electrophoresis products, can be performed.This technique paves the way for utilizing single molecule fluorescence imaging to molecular medicine, organic chemistry, and omics analysis. By bridging the concept between concentration and numbers. Concentrated sodium hydroxide is corrosive, and adequate protection should be worn when handling it.Also, high power laser radiation can cause eye damage, so protective goggles may be worn.

proteome-wide-quantification-labeling-homogeneity-at-single-molecule

Research

JoVE Journal

Biochemistry

Enhanced Sample Multiplexing of Tissues Using Combined Precursor Isotopic Labeling and Isobaric Tagging (cPILOT)

There is an increasing demand to analyze many biological samples for disease understanding and biomarker discovery. Quantitative proteomics strategies that allow simultaneous measurement of multiple samples have become widespread and greatly reduce experimental costs and times. Our laboratory developed a technique called combined precursor isotopic labeling and isobaric tagging (cPILOT), which enhances sample multiplexing of traditional isotopic labeling or isobaric tagging approaches. Global cPILOT can be applied to samples originating from cells, tissues, bodily fluids, or whole organisms and gives information on relative protein abundances across different sample conditions. cPILOT works by 1) using low pH buffer conditions to selectively dimethylate peptide N-termini and 2) using high pH buffer conditions to label primary amines of lysine residues with commercially-available isobaric reagents (see Table of Materials/Reagents). The degree of sample multiplexing available is dependent on the number of precursor labels used and the isobaric tagging reagent. Here, we present a 12-plex analysis using light and heavy dimethylation combined with six-plex isobaric reagents to analyze 12 samples from mouse tissues in a single analysis. Enhanced multiplexing is helpful for reducing experimental time and cost and more importantly, allowing comparison across many sample conditions (biological replicates, disease stage, drug treatments, genotypes, or longitudinal time-points) with less experimental bias and error. In this work, the global cPILOT approach is used to analyze brain, heart, and liver tissues across biological replicates from an Alzheimer&#39;s disease mouse model and wild-type controls. Global cPILOT can be applied to study other biological processes and adapted to increase sample multiplexing to greater than 20 samples.

Enhanced Sample Multiplexing of Tissues Using Combined Precursor Isotopic Labeling and Isobaric Tagging cPILOT

Combined precursor isotopic labeling and isobaric tagging (cPILOT) is a quantitative proteomics strategy that enhances sample multiplexing capabilities of isobaric tags. This protocol describes the application of cPILOT to tissues from an Alzheimer's disease mouse model and wild-type controls.

There is an increasing demand to analyze many biological samples for disease understanding and biomarker discovery. Quantitative proteomics strategies ...

High Precision FRET at Single-molecule Level for Biomolecule Structure Determination

A protocol on how to perform high-precision interdye distance measurements using F&#246;rster resonance energy transfer (FRET) at the single-molecule level in multiparameter fluorescence detection (MFD) mode is presented here. MFD maximizes the usage of all &#34;dimensions&#34; of fluorescence to reduce photophysical and experimental artifacts and allows for the measurement of interdye distance with an accuracy up to ~1 &#197; in rigid biomolecules. This method was used to identify three conformational states of the ligand-binding domain of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor to explain the activation of the receptor upon ligand binding. When comparing the known crystallographic structures with experimental measurements, they agreed within less than 3 &#197; for more dynamic biomolecules. Gathering a set of distance restraints that covers the entire dimensionality of the biomolecules would make it possible to provide a structural model of dynamic biomolecules.

A protocol for high-precision FRET experiments at the single molecule level is presented here. Additionally, this methodology can be used to identify three conformational states in the ligand-binding domain of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Determining precise distances is the first step towards building structural models based on FRET experiments.

A protocol on how to perform high-precision interdye distance measurements using F&#246;rster resonance energy transfer (FRET) at the single-molecule ...

Using Three-color Single-molecule FRET to Study the Correlation of Protein Interactions

Single-molecule F&#246;rster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) has become a widely used biophysical technique to study the dynamics of biomolecules. For many molecular machines in a cell proteins have to act together&#160;with interaction partners in a functional cycle to fulfill their task. The extension of two-color to multi-color smFRET makes it possible to simultaneously probe more than one interaction or conformational change. This not only adds a new dimension to smFRET experiments but it also offers the unique possibility to directly study the sequence of events and to detect correlated interactions when using an immobilized sample and a total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM). Therefore, multi-color smFRET is a versatile tool for studying biomolecular complexes in a quantitative manner and in a previously unachievable detail.
Here, we demonstrate how to overcome the special challenges of multi-color smFRET experiments on proteins. We present detailed protocols for obtaining the data and for extracting kinetic information. This includes trace selection criteria, state separation, and the recovery of state trajectories from the noisy data using a 3D ensemble Hidden Markov Model (HMM). Compared to other methods, the kinetic information is not recovered from dwell time histograms but directly from the HMM. The maximum likelihood framework allows us to critically evaluate the kinetic model and to provide meaningful uncertainties for the rates.
By applying our method to the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), we are able to disentangle the nucleotide binding and the global conformational changes of the protein. This allows us to directly observe the cooperativity between the two nucleotide binding pockets of the Hsp90 dimer.

Here, we present a protocol to obtain three-color smFRET data and its analysis with a 3D ensemble Hidden Markov Model. With this approach, scientists can extract kinetic information from complex protein systems, including cooperativity or correlated interactions.

Single-molecule F&#246;rster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) has become a widely used biophysical technique to study the dynamics of biomolecules. For ...

Covalent Immobilization of Proteins for the Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy

In recent years, atomic force microscopy (AFM) based single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) extended our understanding of molecular properties and functions. It gave us the opportunity to explore a multiplicity of biophysical mechanisms, e.g., how bacterial adhesins bind to host surface receptors in more detail. Among other factors, the success of SMFS experiments depends on the functional and native immobilization of the biomolecules of interest on solid surfaces and AFM tips. Here, we describe a straightforward protocol for the covalent coupling of proteins to silicon surfaces using silane-PEG-carboxyls and the well-established N-hydroxysuccinimid/1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl-aminopropyl)carbodiimid (EDC/NHS) chemistry in order to explore the interaction of pilus-1 adhesin RrgA from the Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) with the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin (Fn). Our results show that the surface functionalization leads to a homogenous distribution of Fn on the glass surface and to an appropriate concentration of RrgA on the AFM cantilever tip, apparent by the target value of up to 20% of interaction events during SMFS measurements and revealed that RrgA binds to Fn with a mean force of 52 pN. The protocol can be adjusted to couple via site specific free thiol groups. This results in a predefined protein or molecule orientation and is suitable for other biophysical applications besides the SMFS.

This protocol describes the covalent immobilization of proteins with a heterobifunctional silane coupling agent to silicon-oxide surfaces designed for the atomic force microscopy based single molecule force spectroscopy which is exemplified by the interaction of RrgA (pilus-1 tip adhesin of S. pneumoniae) with fibronectin.

In recent years, atomic force microscopy (AFM) based single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) extended our understanding of molecular properties and ...

Characterization at the Molecular Level using Robust Biochemical Approaches of a New Kinase Protein

Extensive whole genome sequencing has identified many Open Reading Frames (ORFs) providing many potential proteins. These proteins may have important roles for the cell and may unravel new cellular processes. Among proteins, kinases are major actors as they belong to cell signaling pathways and have the ability to switch on or off many processes crucial to the fate of the cell, such as cell growth, division, differentiation, motility, and death.
In this study, we focused on a new potential kinase protein, LIMK2-1. We demonstrated its existence by Western Blot using a specific antibody. We evaluated its interaction with an upstream regulating protein using coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Coimmunoprecipitation is a very powerful technique able to detect the interaction between two target proteins. It may also be used to detect new partners of a bait protein. The bait protein may be purified either via a tag engineered to its sequence or via an antibody specifically targeting it. These protein complexes may then be separated by SDS-PAGE (Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate PolyAcrylamide Gel) and identified using mass spectrometry. Immunoprecipitated LIMK2-1 was also used to test its kinase activity in vitro by &#947;[32P] ATP labeling. This well-established assay may use many different substrates, and mutated versions of the bait may be used to assess the role of specific residues. The effects of pharmacological agents may also be evaluated since this technique is both highly sensitive and quantitative. Nonetheless, radioactivity handling requires particular caution. Kinase activity may also be assessed with specific antibodies targeting the phospho group of the modified amino acid. These kinds of antibodies are not commercially available for all the phospho modified residues.

We characterized a new kinase protein using robust biochemical approaches: Western Blot analysis with a dedicated specific antibody on different cell lines and tissues, interactions by coimmunoprecipitation experiments, kinase activity detected by Western Blot using a phospho-specific antibody and by &#947;[32P] ATP labeling.

Extensive whole genome sequencing has identified many Open Reading Frames (ORFs) providing many potential proteins. These proteins may have important ...

Single Cell Analysis Of Transcriptionally Active Alleles By Single Molecule FISH

Gene transcription is an essential process in cell biology, and allows cells to interpret and respond to internal and external cues. Traditional bulk population methods (Northern blot, PCR, and RNAseq) that measure mRNA levels lack the ability to provide information on cell-to-cell variation in responses. Precise single cell and allelic visualization and quantification is possible via single molecule RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH). RNA-FISH is performed by hybridizing target RNAs with labeled oligonucleotide probes. These can be imaged in medium/high throughput modalities, and, through image analysis pipelines, provide quantitative data on both mature and nascent RNAs, all at the single cell level. The fixation, permeabilization, hybridization and imaging steps have been optimized in the lab over many years using the model system described herein, which results in successful and robust single cell analysis of smFISH labeling. The main goal with sample preparation and processing is to produce high quality images characterized by a high signal-to-noise ratio to reduce false positives and provide data that are more accurate. Here, we present a protocol describing the pipeline from sample preparation to data analysis in conjunction with suggestions and optimization steps to tailor to specific samples.&#160;

Single molecule RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) is a method to accurately quantify levels and localization of specific RNAs at the single cell level. Here, we report our validated lab protocols for wet-bench processing, imaging and image analysis for single cell quantification of specific RNAs.

Gene transcription is an essential process in cell biology, and allows cells to interpret and respond to internal and external cues. Traditional bulk ...

Single-Molecule Dwell-Time Analysis of Restriction Endonuclease-Mediated DNA Cleavage

This novel total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy-based assay facilitates the simultaneous measurement of the length of the catalytic cycle for hundreds of individual restriction endonuclease (REase) molecules in one experiment. This assay does not require protein labeling and can be carried out with a single imaging channel. In addition, the results of multiple individual experiments can be pooled to generate well-populated dwell-time distributions. Analysis of the resulting dwell-time distributions can help elucidate the DNA cleavage mechanism by revealing the presence of kinetic steps that cannot be directly observed. Example data collected using this assay with the well-studied REase, EcoRV - a dimeric Type IIP restriction endonuclease that cleaves the palindromic sequence GAT&#8595;ATC (where &#8595; is the cut site) - are in agreement with prior studies. These results suggest that there are at least three steps in the pathway to DNA cleavage that is initiated by introducing magnesium after EcoRV binds DNA in its absence, with an average rate of 0.17 s-1 for each step.

Using quantum-dot-labeled DNA and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we can investigate the reaction mechanism of restriction endonucleases while using unlabeled protein. This single-molecule technique allows for massively multiplexed observation of individual protein-DNA interactions, and data can be pooled to generate well-populated dwell-time distributions.

This novel total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy-based assay facilitates the simultaneous measurement of the length of the catalytic cycle for ...

An Optimized Single-Molecule Pull-Down Assay for Quantification of Protein Phosphorylation

Phosphorylation is a necessary posttranslational modification that regulates protein function and directs cell signaling outcomes. Current methods to measure protein phosphorylation cannot preserve the heterogeneity in phosphorylation across individual proteins. The single-molecule pull-down (SiMPull) assay was developed to investigate the composition of macromolecular complexes via immunoprecipitation of proteins on a glass coverslip followed by single-molecule imaging. The current technique is an adaptation of SiMPull that provides robust quantification of the phosphorylation state of full-length membrane receptors at the single-molecule level. Imaging thousands of individual receptors in this way allows for quantifying protein phosphorylation patterns. The present protocol details the optimized SiMPull procedure, from sample preparation to imaging. Optimization of glass preparation and antibody fixation protocols further enhances data quality. The current protocol provides code for the single-molecule data analysis that calculates the fraction of receptors phosphorylated within a sample. While this work focuses on phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), the protocol can be generalized to other membrane receptors and cytosolic signaling molecules.

The present protocol describes sample preparation and data analysis to quantify protein phosphorylation using an improved single-molecule pull-down (SiMPull) assay.

Phosphorylation is a necessary posttranslational modification that regulates protein function and directs cell signaling outcomes. Current methods to ...

Visualizing the Conformational Dynamics of Membrane Receptors Using Single-Molecule FRET

The ability of cells to respond to external signals is essential for cellular development, growth, and survival. To respond to a signal from the environment, a cell must be able to recognize and process it. This task mainly relies on the function of membrane receptors, whose role is to convert signals into the biochemical language of the cell. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest family of membrane receptor proteins in humans. Among GPCRs, metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are a unique subclass that function as obligate dimers and possess a large extracellular domain that contains the ligand-binding site. Recent advances in structural studies of mGluRs have improved the understanding of their activation process. However, the propagation of large-scale conformational changes through mGluRs during activation and modulation is poorly understood. Single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a powerful technique to visualize and quantify the structural dynamics of biomolecules at the single-protein level. To visualize the dynamic process of mGluR2 activation, fluorescent conformational sensors based on unnatural amino acid (UAA) incorporation were developed that allowed site-specific protein labeling without perturbation of the native structure of receptors. The protocol described here explains how to perform these experiments, including the novel UAA labeling approach, sample preparation, and smFRET data acquisition and analysis. These strategies are generalizable and can be extended to investigate the conformational dynamics of a variety of membrane proteins.

This study presents a detailed procedure to perform single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) experiments on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) using site-specific labeling via unnatural amino acid (UAA) incorporation. The protocol provides a step-by-step guide for smFRET sample preparation, experiments, and data analysis.

The ability of cells to respond to external signals is essential for cellular development, growth, and survival. To respond to a signal from the ...

Imaging the Motion of Fully Reconstituted Cdc45/Mcm2-7/GINS (CMG)

Hybrid Ensemble and Single-molecule Assay to Image the Motion of Fully Reconstituted CMG

Eukaryotes have one replicative helicase known as CMG, which centrally organizes and drives the replisome, and leads the way at the front of replication forks. Obtaining a deep mechanistic understanding of the dynamics of CMG is critical to elucidating how cells achieve the enormous task of efficiently and accurately replicating their entire genome once per cell cycle. Single-molecule techniques are uniquely suited to quantify the dynamics of CMG due to their unparalleled temporal and spatial resolution. Nevertheless, single-molecule studies of CMG motion have thus far relied on pre-formed CMG purified from cells as a complex, which precludes the study of the steps leading up to its activation. Here, we describe a hybrid ensemble and single-molecule assay that allowed imaging at the single-molecule level of the motion of fluorescently labeled CMG after fully reconstituting its assembly and activation from 36 different purified S. cerevisiae polypeptides. This assay relies on the double functionalization of the ends of a linear DNA substrate with two orthogonal attachment moieties, and can be adapted to study similarly complex DNA-processing mechanisms at the single-molecule level.

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Motion Dynamics of the Eukaryotic Replisome Components at the Single-Molecule Level

We report a hybrid ensemble and single-molecule assay to directly image and quantify the motion of fluorescently labeled, fully reconstituted Cdc45/Mcm2-7/GINS (CMG) helicase on linear DNA molecules held in place in an optical trap.

Eukaryotes have one replicative helicase known as CMG, which centrally organizes and drives the replisome, and leads the way at the front of replication ...