The authors have no acknowledgements.

1. Preparation of the Aptamer Working Stock
<ol>
	<li>Follow the manufacturer&#39;s instructions and dissolve the oligonucleotide (5-Cy5-CCTG GGGGAGTATTGCGGAGGAAGG-3, sequence from reference18) in water, reaching a 100-&#181;M final concentration.</li>
	<li>Prepare the aptamer working solution by diluting the oligonucleotide stock to 200 nM with binding buffer (20 mM Tris, pH 7.6; 300 mM NaCl; 5 mM MgCl2; 0.01% Tween20).</li>
	<li>Incubate the mixture for 2 min at 90 &#176;C, let the sample immedi...

Quality controls:
Unspecific sticking/adsorption of sample material to surfaces, as well as aggregation effects, have a dramatic influence on the quality of the affinity data. However, only a few state-of-the-art technologies offer accurate and rapid options to monitor and avoid these effects. MST offers integrated quality controls that detect and help to overcome these issues, allowing for the stepwise optimization of the technical setup. Important information on sticking and fluorescence effect...

Interaction between molecules is the basis of nature. Hence, scientists in many fields of basic and applied research try to understand the fundamental principles of molecular interactions of different kinds. MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) enables scientists to perform the fast, precise, cost-efficient, and quality-controlled characterization of molecular interactions in solution, with a free choice of buffers. There are already more than 1,000 publications using MST, from 2016 alone, describing different kinds of analyses, including library screenings, binding event validations, competition assays, and experiments with multiple binding partners1-8. In general, MST permits the study of the classical binding parameters, such as binding affinity (pM to mM), stoichiometry, and thermodynamics, of any kind of molecular interaction. A great advantage of MST is the ability to study binding events independent of the size of the interaction partners. Even challenging interactions between small nucleic acid aptamers (15-30 nt) and targets such as small molecules, drugs, antibiotics, or metabolites can be quantified.
Current state-of-the-art technologies to characterize aptamer-target interactions are either lab-intense and highly complex or fail to quantify aptamer-small molecule interactions9,10. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)-based assays11,12 and truly label-free calorimetric approaches, such as Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC)13-15, isocratic elution16, equilibrium &#64257;ltration17,18, in-line probing19, gel-shift assays, stopped-&#64258;ow &#64258;uorescence spectroscopy20,21, fluorescence anisotropy (FA)22,23, single-molecule &#64258;uorescence imaging24,25, and Bio-layer interferometry (BLI)26 are also either imprecise or incompatible with aptamer-small molecule interactions. Other principal issues of these methods are low sensitivity, high sample consumption, immobilization, mass transport limitations on surfaces, and/or buffer restrictions. Only a few of these technologies provide integrated controls for aggregation and adsorption effects.
MST represents a powerful tool for scientists to overcome this limitation to study the interactions between aptamers and small molecules27-29, as well as other targets such as proteins30-33. The technology relies on the movement of molecules through temperature gradients. This directed movement, called &#34;thermophoresis,&#34; depends on the size, charge, and hydration shell of the molecule34,35. The binding of a ligand to the molecule will directly alter at least one of these parameters, resulting in a changed thermophoretic mobility. Ligands with small sizes may not have considerable impact in terms of size change from the unbound to the bound state, but they can have dramatic effects on the hydration shell and/or charge. The changes in the thermophoretic movement of molecules after interactions with the binding partner enables the quantification of basic binding parameters2,7,34,36,37.
As depicted in Figure 1A, the MST device consists of an infrared laser focused onto the sample within the glass capillaries using the same optics as for fluorescence detection. The thermophoretic movement of proteins via the intrinsic &#64258;uorescence of tryptophans6 or of a fluorescently labeled interaction partner3,8 can be monitored while the laser establishes a temperature gradient (&#916;T of 2-6 &#176;C). The resulting temperature difference in space, &#916;T, leads to the depletion or accumulation of molecules in the area of elevated temperature, which can be quantified by the Soret coef&#64257;cient (ST):
<img alt="Equation" src="/files/ftp_upload/55070/55070eq1.jpg" />
chot represents the concentration in the heated region, and ccold is the concentration in the initial cold region.
As shown in Figure 1B, a typical MST experiment results in an MST movement profile (time trace), consisting of different phases, which can be separated by their respective timescales. The initial fluorescence is measured in the first 5 s in absence of the temperature gradient to define the precise starting fluorescence and to check for photobleaching or photoenhancement. The Temperature Jump (T-Jump) represents the phase in which the fluorescence changes before thermophoretic movement. This initial decrease in fluorescence depends on heat-dependent changes of &#64258;uorophore quantum yield. The thermophoresis phase follows, in which the fluorescence decreases (or increases) due to the thermophoretic movement of the molecules until the steady-state distribution is reached. The reverse TJump and concomitant back diffusion of &#64258;uorescent molecules can be observed as indicated in Figure 1B after the laser is switched off. In order to access basic binding parameters, different molar ratios of the interaction partners are analyzed and compared. Typically, 16 different ratios are studied in one MST experiment, whereas the optical visible molecule is kept constant and is supplied with an increasing amount of the unlabeled ligand. The interaction between the two binding partners induces changes in the thermophoresis, and thus in the normalized &#64258;uorescence, Fnorm, which is calculated as following:
<img alt="Equation" src="/files/ftp_upload/55070/55070eq2.jpg" />
Fhot and Fcold represent averaged &#64258;uorescence intensities at de&#64257;ned time points of the MST traces. Binding affinities (Kd or EC50 values) can be calculated by curve fitting (Figure 1C).
Overall, MST is a powerful tool to study molecular interactions of any kind. This manuscript offers a protocol to characterize the challenging interaction between the small molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP; 0.5 kDa) and the 25-nt short ssDNA aptamer DH25.42 (7.9 kDa). Over the course of the manuscript, the binding site of the aptamer on the ATP molecule is mapped down to the adenine group of the ATP.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr >
			<td >Aptamer binding buffer</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td ></td>
			<td >20 mM Tris pH7.6; 300 mM NaCl; 5 mM MgCl2; 0.01%Tween-20</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Fluorescently labeled ATP aptamer</td>
			<td>IDT, Leuven, Belgium</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td>sequence: DH25.42 50-Cy5-CCTGGGGGAGT-ATTGCGGAGGAAGG-3</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >ATP</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich, Germany&#160;</td>
			<td>A2383</td>
			<td>10 mM stock solutions stored at - 20 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >ADP</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich, Germany&#160;</td>
			<td>A2754</td>
			<td>10 mM stock solutions stored at - 20 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >AMP</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich, Germany&#160;</td>
			<td>A2252</td>
			<td>10 mM stock solutions stored at - 20 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Adenine</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich, Germany&#160;</td>
			<td>A8626</td>
			<td>10 mM stock solutions stored at - 20 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >SAM</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich, Germany&#160;</td>
			<td>A7007</td>
			<td>10 mM stock solutions stored at - 20 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >dATP</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich, Germany&#160;</td>
			<td >11934511001</td>
			<td>10 mM stock solutions stored at - 20 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >CTP</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich, Germany&#160;</td>
			<td>C1506</td>
			<td>10 mM stock solutions stored at - 20 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >GTP</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich, Germany&#160;</td>
			<td >G8877</td>
			<td>10 mM stock solutions stored at - 20 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Monolith NT.115&#160;</td>
			<td>NanoTemper Technologies, Munich, Germany</td>
			<td >MO-G008</td>
			<td>Blue/Red Channel MST device with standard detector, Monolith NT115 pico is MST device with high sensitivity detector</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Monolith NT.115 capillaries Standard</td>
			<td>NanoTemper Technologies, Munich, Germany</td>
			<td >MO-K002</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Eppendorf PCR tubes</td>
			<td >Eppendorf, Germany</td>
			<td >30124537</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Monolith control software. 2.1.33, pre-installed on the device</td>
			<td>NanoTemper Technologies, Munich, Germany</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >MO.affinity analysis v2.1.1</td>
			<td>NanoTemper Technologies, Munich, Germany</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Kaleidagraph 4.5.2</td>
			<td >Synergy Software</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

mapping the binding site of an aptamer on atp using microscale thermophoresis

Characterization of molecular interactions in terms of basic binding parameters such as binding affinity, stoichiometry, and thermodynamics is an essential step in basic and applied science. MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) is a sensitive biophysical method to obtain this important information. Relying on a physical effect called thermophoresis, which describes the movement of molecules through temperature gradients, this technology allows for the fast and precise determination of binding parameters in solution and allows the free choice of buffer conditions (from buffer to lysates/sera). MST uses the fact that an unbound molecule displays a different thermophoretic movement than a molecule that is in complex with a binding partner. The thermophoretic movement is altered in the moment of molecular interaction due to changes in size, charge, and hydration shell. By comparing the movement profiles of different molecular ratios of the two binding partners, quantitative information such as binding affinity (pM to mM) can be determined. Even challenging interactions between molecules of small sizes, such as aptamers and small compounds, can be studied by MST. Using the well-studied model interaction between the DH25.42 DNA aptamer and ATP, this manuscript provides a protocol to characterize aptamer-small molecule interactions. This study demonstrates that MST is highly sensitive and permits the mapping of the binding site of the 7.9 kDa DNA aptamer to the adenine of ATP.

In this study, MST was applied to characterize the binding site of the DH25.42 DNA aptamer18 on ATP. In contrast to other studies characterizing the interaction of ATP or ATP-mimicking small molecules with proteins randomly labeled with one or more fluorophores38-40, this study includes a labeled version of the 7.9 kDa ssDNA aptamer with one Cy5 molecule on the 5&#180; end. Different ATP derivatives and related molecules, all differing from ATP in various positions, ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Mapping the Binding Site of an Aptamer on ATP Using MicroScale Thermophoresis at JoVE.com

Mapping the Binding Site of an Aptamer on ATP Using MicroScale Thermophoresis

MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) is a sensitive technology to characterize aptamer-target interactions. This manuscript describes an MST protocol to characterize aptamer-small molecule interactions.

Characterization of molecular interactions in terms of basic binding parameters such as binding affinity, stoichiometry, and thermodynamics is an ...

The overall goal of this experiment is to characterize DNA aptamer small molecule interactions, including binding site mapping, using microscale thermophoresis. This method can help to answer key questions on basic binding parameters of molecular interactions. The main advantage of this technology is that it is independent of interaction partner size, allowing quality control data of challenging interactions between aptamers and small molecules to be obtained.Though this method can provide insight into aptamer small molecule interactions, it can also be applied to other molecular interactions such as drug-target or antigen/antibody interactions. To begin the procedure, prepare a 100 micromolar stock solution of the Cy5 labeled DNA DH25.42 aptamer in distilled water. Then, dilute the aptamer stock solution to 200 nanomolar with binding buffer.Incubate the aptamer working solution for two minutes at 90 degrees Celsius. Cool the solution to room temperature on ice. Next, label and set out low binding 200 microliter microcentrifuge tubes for a 16-step serial dilution of the ligand to be tested.Pipette 20 microliters of a 10 millimolar stock solution of ligand and binding buffer into tube 1. Pipette 10 microliters of binding buffer into tubes 2 through 16. Then transfer 10 microliters of ligand stock from tube 1 to tube 2 and mix well with the pipette.Transfer 10 microliters of the diluted mixture to tube 3 and mix well. Continue the serial dilution in this way, correcting for buffer dilution effects if needed, and discard the excess 10 microliters from tube 16 when finished. Add 10 microliters of the aptamer working solution to each dilution and mix well with the pipette.Incubate the samples for five minutes at room temperature. Then draw each mixture into a clean standard capillary, being sure to only touch the capillary at the ends. Place the capillaries in the tray holder in descending order of concentration.Start the MST device and open the instrument control software. Enable manual temperature control and set the instrument temperature to 25 degrees Celsius. Once the instrument is at the correct temperature, insert the capillary tray.Set the LED channel to red for Cy5 labeled aptamer. Set the LED power to attain a fluorescence signal of 500 units. Then perform a capillary scan to obtain the capillary positions and check the sample quality.If the resulting peaks are U-shaped or flattened, prepare new samples in coded capillaries to minimize sticking effects. In the MST instrument software, fill in the ligand concentration and dilution type for the first capillary. Click and drag to fill in the concentrations and dilutions for the remaining capillaries.Enter the concentration of the aptamer in the final mix. Ensure that the experiment method is set to detect fluorescence for five seconds, record the MST for 30 seconds, and then record the fluorescence for five seconds after turning off the laser. Set the laser power to 20%Set the file path and save the experiment file.Then start the MST measurement. Obtain at least three measurements in this way. To begin data analysis, open the MST analysis software and load the experiment file.Select MST for the analysis type. The analysis software allows to compare technical repeats where all the measurements were of the same set of capillaries. Biological repeats from a different set of capillaries can be added to the analysis as well.Click the information button under the first measurement. Inspect the MST traces for bumps or spikes indicating aggregation or precipitation effects. Then inspect the capillary scan and capillary shape overlay for flattened or U-shaped peaks indicating sticking or absorption effects.As aggregates and absorption effects are rapidly detectable in MST, the method allows for fast and rapid optimization of the technical set-up to ensure optimal data quality. Check for ligand dependent fluorescence quenching or enhancement effects in the capillary scan and initial fluorescence. Inspect the fluorescence change over time for signs of photo bleaching or photo enhancement.Once the data quality has been verified, switch to the dose response mode. Select the expert analysis setting in the T Jump MST evaluation strategy. Then select the hill model for curve fitting to automatically calculate the binding parameters.In the compare results menu, select a normalization type. Export the normalized data as a spreadsheet or PDF file. In this procedure, MST was used to investigate the binding interactions of a single strand DNA aptamer with a selection of small molecule ligands.The MST curves were fit with the hill equation and the half maximal effective concentration values were determined. In five independent biological repeat measurements of the aptamer with ATP, the ATP aptamer interaction showed a negative binding amplitude of 6 to 13 units, and an average EC50 value of about 52.3 micromolar. The data for each ligand was normalized to the fraction of bound molecules and then compared.The EC50 values for ADP, AMP, and SAM compared to ATP suggest that the number of phosphate groups has at most a minor influence on the aptamer binding behavior. Removal of the robo C2 hydroxal group also showed only a minor effect on the aptamer binding affinity. The aptamer did not bind in the absence of a pairing group or if the pairing group was changed to guanine.The aptamer did bind to adenine alone, further indicating that the adenine group is the main binding site for the aptamer. Once mastered, this technique can provide essential information on basic binding parameters in minutes to hours if performed properly.

mapping-binding-site-an-aptamer-on-atp-using-microscale

Research

JoVE Journal

Biochemistry

10.4K ビュー.  2bind GmbH. The overall goal of this experiment is to characterize DNA aptamer small molecule interactions, including binding site mapping, using microscale thermophoresis. This method can help to answer key questions on basic binding parameters of molecular interactions. The main advantage of this technology is that it is independent of interaction partner size, allowing quality control data of challenging interactions between aptamers and small molecules to be obtained.Though this method can pro...

ビデオ: Mapping the Binding Site of an Aptamer on ATP Using MicroScale Thermophoresis

Quantification of Bacterial Histidine Kinase Autophosphorylation Using a Nitrocellulose Binding Assay

We demonstrate a useful method for quantifying autophosphorylation of purified bacterial histidine kinases. Histidine kinases are known for their involvement in two-component signal transduction, a ubiquitous system through which bacteria sense and respond to environmental stimuli. Two-component signaling features autophosphorylation of a histidine kinase, followed by phosphotransfer to the receiver domain of a response regulator protein, which ultimately leads to an output response. Autophosphorylation of the histidine kinase is responsive to the presence of a cognate environmental stimulus, thereby giving bacteria a means to detect and respond to changes in the environment. Despite their importance in bacterial biology, histidine kinases remain poorly understood due to the inherent lability of phosphohistidine. Conventional methods for studying these proteins, such as SDS-PAGE autoradiography, have significant shortcomings. We have developed a nitrocellulose binding assay that can be used to characterize histidine kinases. The protocol for this assay is simple and easy to execute. Our method is higher throughput, less time-consuming, and offers a greater dynamic range than SDS-PAGE autoradiography.

We report and demonstrate an optimized nitrocellulose binding assay that can be used to quantify autophosphorylation of purified bacterial histidine kinases. Our method has several advantages over traditional SDS-PAGE based techniques, providing a valuable alternative for characterizing these important proteins.

We demonstrate a useful method for quantifying autophosphorylation of purified bacterial histidine kinases. Histidine kinases are known for their ...

Assaying Protein Kinase Activity with Radiolabeled ATP

Protein kinases are able to govern large-scale cellular changes in response to complex arrays of stimuli, and much effort has been directed at uncovering allosteric details of their regulation. Kinases comprise signaling networks whose defects are often hallmarks of multiple forms of cancer and related diseases, making an assay platform amenable to manipulation of upstream regulatory factors and validation of reaction requirements critical in the search for improved therapeutics. Here, we describe a basic kinase assay that can be easily adapted to suit specific experimental questions including but not limited to testing the effects of biochemical and pharmacological agents, genetic manipulations such as mutation and deletion, as well as cell culture conditions and treatments to probe cell signaling mechanisms. This assay utilizes radiolabeled [&#947;-32P] ATP, which allows for quantitative comparisons and clear visualization of results, and can be modified for use with immunoprecipitated or recombinant kinase, specific or typified substrates, all over a wide range of reaction conditions.

Protein kinases are highly evolved signaling enzymes and scaffolds that are critical for inter- and intracellular signal transduction. We present a protocol for measuring kinase activity through the use of radiolabeled adenosine triphosphate ([&#947;-32P] ATP), a reliable method to aid in elucidation of cellular signaling regulation.

Protein kinases are able to govern large-scale cellular changes in response to complex arrays of stimuli, and much effort has been directed at uncovering ...

Determination of High-affinity Antibody-antigen Binding Kinetics Using Four Biosensor Platforms

Label-free optical biosensors are powerful tools in drug discovery for the characterization of biomolecular interactions. In this study, we describe the use of four routinely used biosensor platforms in our laboratory to evaluate the binding affinity and kinetics of ten high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9). While both Biacore T100 and ProteOn XPR36 are derived from the well-established Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology, the former has four flow cells connected by serial flow configuration, whereas the latter presents 36 reaction spots in parallel through an improvised 6 x 6 crisscross microfluidic channel configuration. The IBIS MX96 also operates based on the SPR sensor technology, with an additional imaging feature that provides detection in spatial orientation. This detection technique coupled with the Continuous Flow Microspotter (CFM) expands the throughput significantly by enabling multiplex array printing and detection of 96 reaction sports simultaneously. In contrast, the Octet RED384 is based on the BioLayer Interferometry (BLI) optical principle, with fiber-optic probes acting as the biosensor to detect interference pattern changes upon binding interactions at the tip surface. Unlike the SPR-based platforms, the BLI system does not rely on continuous flow fluidics; instead, the sensor tips collect readings while they are immersed in analyte solutions of a 384-well microplate during orbital agitation.
Each of these biosensor platforms has its own advantages and disadvantages. To provide a direct comparison of these instruments&#39; ability to provide quality kinetic data, the described protocols illustrate experiments that use the same assay format and the same high-quality reagents to characterize antibody-antigen kinetics that fit the simple 1:1 molecular interaction model.

We describe here protocols for the measurement of antibody-antigen binding affinity and kinetics using four commonly used biosensor platforms.

Label-free optical biosensors are powerful tools in drug discovery for the characterization of biomolecular interactions. In this study, we describe the ...

Rab10 Phosphorylation Detection by LRRK2 Activity Using SDS-PAGE with a Phosphate-binding Tag

Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) have been shown to be linked with familial Parkinson&#39;s disease (FPD). Since abnormal activation of the kinase activity of LRRK2 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of PD, it is essential to establish a method to evaluate the physiological levels of the kinase activity of LRRK2. Recent studies revealed that LRRK2 phosphorylates members of the Rab GTPase family, including Rab10, under physiological conditions. Although the phosphorylation of endogenous Rab10 by LRRK2 in cultured cells could be detected by mass spectrometry, it has been difficult to detect it by immunoblotting due to the poor sensitivity of currently available phosphorylation-specific antibodies for Rab10. Here, we describe a simple method of detecting the endogenous levels of Rab10 phosphorylation by LRRK2 based on immunoblotting utilizing sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) combined with a phosphate-binding tag (P-tag), which is N-(5-(2-aminoethylcarbamoyl)pyridin-2-ylmetyl)-N,N&#39;,N&#39;-tris(pyridin-2-yl-methyl)-1,3-diaminopropan-2-ol. The present protocol not only provides an example of the methodology utilizing the P-tag but also enables the assessment of how mutations as well as inhibitor treatment/administration or any other factors alter the downstream signaling of LRRK2 in cells and tissues.

The present study describes a simple method of detecting endogenous levels of Rab10 phosphorylation by leucine-rich repeat kinase 2.

Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) have been shown to be linked with familial Parkinson&#39;s disease (FPD). Since abnormal activation of ...

A Simple Method for High Throughput Chemical Screening in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is a useful organism for testing chemical effects on physiology. Whole organism small molecule screens offer significant advantages for identifying biologically active chemical structures that can modify complex phenotypes such as lifespan. Described here is a simple protocol for producing hundreds of 96-well culture plates with fairly consistent numbers of C. elegans in each well. Next, we specified how to use these cultures to screen thousands of chemicals for effects on the lifespan of the nematode C. elegans. This protocol makes use of temperature sensitive sterile strains, agar plate conditions, and simple animal handling to facilitate the rapid and high throughput production of synchronized animal cultures for screening.

A Simple Method for High Throughput Chemical Screening in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Here we describe a simple protocol for rapidly producing hundreds of nematode growth media agar, 96-well culture plates with consistent numbers of Caenorhhabditis elegans per well. These cultures are useful for the phenotypic screening of whole organisms. We focus here on using these cultures to screen chemicals for pro-longevity effects.

Caenorhabditis elegans is a useful organism for testing chemical effects on physiology. Whole organism small molecule screens offer significant advantages ...

Detection of Small GTPase Prenylation and GTP Binding Using Membrane Fractionation and  GTPase-linked Immunosorbent Assay

The Rho GTPase family belongs to the Ras superfamily and includes approximately 20 members in humans. Rho GTPases are important in the regulation of diverse cellular functions, including cytoskeletal dynamics, cell motility, cell polarity, axonal guidance, vesicular trafficking, and cell cycle control. Changes in Rho GTPase signaling play an essential regulatory role in many pathological conditions, such as&#160;cancer, central nervous system diseases, and immune system-dependent diseases. The posttranslational modification of Rho GTPases (i.e., prenylation by mevalonate pathway intermediates) and GTP binding are key factors which affect the activation of this protein. In this paper, two essential and simple methods are provided to detect a broad range of Rho GTPase prenylation and GTP binding activities. Details of the technical procedures that have been used are explained step by step in this manuscript.

Here we describe a protocol to investigate the prenylation and guanosine-5'-triphosphate (GTP)-loading of Rho GTPase. This protocol consists of two detailed methods, namely membrane fractionation and a GTPase-linked immunosorbent assay. The protocol can be used for measuring the prenylation and GTP loading of different other small GTPases.

The Rho GTPase family belongs to the Ras superfamily and includes approximately 20 members in humans. Rho GTPases are important in the regulation of ...

Defining Hsp33's Redox-regulated Chaperone Activity and Mapping Conformational Changes on Hsp33 Using Hydrogen-deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

Living organisms regularly need to cope with fluctuating environments during their life cycle, including changes in temperature, pH, the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, and more. These fluctuations can lead to a widespread protein unfolding, aggregation, and cell death. Therefore, cells have evolved a dynamic and stress-specific network of molecular chaperones, which maintain a "healthy" proteome during stress conditions. ATP-independent chaperones constitute one major class of molecular chaperones, which serve as first-line defense molecules, protecting against protein aggregation in a stress-dependent manner. One feature these chaperones have in common is their ability to utilize structural plasticity for their stress-specific activation, recognition, and release of the misfolded client. 
In this paper, we focus on the functional and structural analysis of one such intrinsically disordered chaperone, the bacterial redox-regulated Hsp33, which protects proteins against aggregation during oxidative stress. Here, we present a toolbox of diverse techniques for studying redox-regulated chaperone activity, as well as for mapping conformational changes of the chaperone, underlying its activity. Specifically, we describe a workflow which includes the preparation of fully reduced and fully oxidized proteins, followed by an analysis of the chaperone anti-aggregation activity in vitro using light-scattering, focusing on the degree of the anti-aggregation activity and its kinetics. To overcome frequent outliers accumulated during aggregation assays, we describe the usage of Kfits, a novel graphical tool which allows easy processing of kinetic measurements. This tool can be easily applied to other types of kinetic measurements for removing outliers and fitting kinetic parameters. To correlate the function with the protein structure, we describe the setup and workflow of a structural mass spectrometry technique, hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, that allows the mapping of conformational changes on the chaperone and substrate during different stages of Hsp33 activity. The same methodology can be applied to other protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions.

Defining Hsp33&#039;s Redox-regulated Chaperone Activity and Mapping Conformational Changes on Hsp33 Using Hydrogen-deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

One of the most challenging stress conditions that organisms encounter during their lifetime involves the accumulation of oxidants. During oxidative stress, cells heavily rely on molecular chaperones. Here, we present methods used to investigate the redox-regulated anti-aggregation activity, as well as to monitor structural changes governing the chaperone function using HDX-MS.

Living organisms regularly need to cope with fluctuating environments during their life cycle, including changes in temperature, pH, the accumulation of ...

Dissipative Microgravimetry to Study the Binding Dynamics of the Phospholipid Binding Protein Annexin A2 to Solid-supported Lipid Bilayers Using a Quartz Resonator

The dissipative quartz crystal microbalance technique is a simple and label-free approach to measure simultaneously the mass uptake and viscoelastic properties of the absorbed/immobilized mass on sensor surfaces, allowing the measurements of the interaction of proteins with solid-supported surfaces, such as lipid bilayers, in real-time and with a high sensitivity. Annexins are a highly conserved group of phospholipid-binding proteins that interact reversibly with the negatively charged headgroups via the coordination of calcium ions. Here, we describe a protocol that was employed to quantitatively analyze the binding of annexin A2 (AnxA2) to planar lipid bilayers prepared on the surface of a quartz sensor. This protocol is optimized to obtain robust and reproducible data and includes a detailed step-by-step description. The method can be applied to other membrane-binding proteins and bilayer compositions.

Here, we present an experimental protocol that can be employed to determine the binding affinities and mode of interaction of label-free phospholipid-binding protein annexin A2 with immobilized solid-supported bilayers (SLB) by simultaneously measuring the mass uptake and the viscoelastic properties of the protein annexin A2.

The dissipative quartz crystal microbalance technique is a simple and label-free approach to measure simultaneously the mass uptake and viscoelastic ...

Measuring Interactions of Globular and Filamentous Proteins by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) and Microscale Thermophoresis (MST)

Filamentous proteins such as vimentin provide organization within cells by providing a structural scaffold with sites that bind proteins containing plakin repeats. Here, a protocol for detecting and measuring such interactions is described using the globular plakin repeat domain of envoplakin and the helical coil of vimentin. This provides a basis for determining whether a protein binds vimentin (or similar filamentous proteins) and for measurement of the affinity of the interaction. The globular protein of interest is labeled with 15N and titrated with vimentin protein in solution. A two-dimensional NMR spectrum is acquired to detect interactions by observing changes in peak shape or chemical shifts, and to elucidate effects of solution conditions including salt levels, which influence vimentin quaternary structure. If the protein of interest binds the filamentous ligand, the binding interaction is quantified by MST using the purified proteins. The approach is a straightforward way for determining whether a protein of interest binds a filament, and for assessing how alterations, such as mutations or solution conditions, affect the interaction.

Measuring Interactions of Globular and Filamentous Proteins by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy NMR and Microscale Thermophoresis MST

Here, we present a protocol for the production and purification of proteins that are labeled with stable isotopes, and subsequent characterization of protein-protein interactions using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) experiments.

Filamentous proteins such as vimentin provide organization within cells by providing a structural scaffold with sites that bind proteins containing plakin ...

Evaluation of Protein&#8211;Protein Interactions using an On-Membrane Digestion Technique

Numerous intracellular proteins physically interact in accordance with their intracellular and extracellular circumstances. Indeed, cellular functions largely depend on intracellular protein&#8211;protein interactions. Therefore, research regarding these interactions is indispensable to facilitating the understanding of physiologic processes. Co-precipitation of associated proteins, followed by mass spectrometry (MS) analysis, enables the identification of novel protein interactions. In this study, we have provided details of the novel technique of immunoprecipitation-liquid chromatography (LC)-MS/MS analysis combined with on-membrane digestion for the analysis of protein&#8211;protein interactions. This technique is suitable for crude immunoprecipitants and can improve the throughput of proteomic analyses. Tagged recombinant proteins were precipitated using specific antibodies; next, immunoprecipitants blotted onto polyvinylidene difluoride membrane pieces were subjected to reductive alkylation. Following trypsinization, the digested protein residues were analyzed using LC-MS/MS. Using this technique, we were able to identify several candidate associated proteins. Thus, this method is convenient and useful for the characterization of novel protein&#8211;protein interactions.

Evaluation of Protein&amp;#8211;Protein Interactions using an On-Membrane Digestion Technique

Here, we present a protocol for an on-membrane digestion technique for the preparation of samples for mass spectrometry. This technique facilitates the convenient analysis of protein&#8211;protein interactions.

Numerous intracellular proteins physically interact in accordance with their intracellular and extracellular circumstances. Indeed, cellular functions ...