Name: visualization and quantification of endogenous intra-organelle protein interactions at er-mitochondria contact sites by proximity ligation assays
Uploaded: 2023-10-20T13:20:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Visualization and Quantification of Endogenous Intra-Organelle Protein Interactions at ER-Mitochondria Contact Sites by Proximity Ligation Assays at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the ANR Jeune Chercheur (ANR0015TD), the ATIP-Avenir Program, the Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale (n&#176;206548), and the Fondation Vaincre Alzheimer (eOTP:669122 LS 212527), I&#39;Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-11-EQPX-0029/Morphoscope, ANR-10-INBS-04/FranceBioImaging; ANR-11-IDEX-0003-02/Saclay Plant Sciences ANR-22-CE11-0024-01/MADE to FG) and AFM Telethon (Project AFM 23778).

1. Mitochondrial staining and proximity ligation assay (PLA)
<ol>
	<li>Plate 0.5 x 105-2 x 105 HeLa cells, maintained in Dulbecco&#39;s modified Eagle medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% FBS, 1% penicillin/streptomycin, and 1% non-essential amino acids at 37 &#176;C with 5% CO2, in 13 mm glass coverslips in 1.5 in 24-well plates at a dilution that allows 75%-90% cell confluence on the day of the procedure. 
	NOTE: Of note, HeLa cells can be submitted to additional ...

<ol>
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(118), e54899 (2016).</li><li>Cuello, F., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Impairment+of+the+ER/mitochondria+compartment+in+human+cardiomyocytes+with+PLN+p.Arg14del+mutation.">Impairment of the ER/mitochondria compartment in human cardiomyocytes with PLN p.Arg14del mutation.</a> EMBO Molecular Medicine. 13 (6), e13074 (2021).</li><li>Paillusson, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=&#945;-Synuclein+binds+to+the+ER-mitochondria+tethering+protein+VAPB+to+disrupt+Ca2++homeostasis+and+mitochondrial+ATP+production.">&#945;-Synuclein binds to the ER-mitochondria tethering protein VAPB to disrupt Ca2+ homeostasis and mitochondrial ATP production.</a> Acta Neuropathologica. 134 (1), 129-149 (2017).</li><li>Tubbs, E., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Mitochondria-associated+endoplasmic+reticulum+membrane+(MAM)+integrity+is+required+for+insulin+signaling+and+is+implicated+in+hepatic+insulin+resistance.">Mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane (MAM) integrity is required for insulin signaling and is implicated in hepatic insulin resistance.</a> Diabetes. 63 (10), 3279-3294 (2014).</li><li>Chung, J., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=PI4P/phosphatidylserine+countertransport+at+ORP5-+and+ORP8-mediated+ER-plasma+membrane+contacts.">PI4P/phosphatidylserine countertransport at ORP5- and ORP8-mediated ER-plasma membrane contacts.</a> Science. 349 (6246), 428-432 (2015).</li><li>Galmes, R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ORP5/ORP8+localize+to+endoplasmic+reticulum-mitochondria+contacts+and+are+involved+in+mitochondrial+function.">ORP5/ORP8 localize to endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contacts and are involved in mitochondrial function.</a> EMBO Reports. 17 (6), 800-810 (2016).</li><li>Ghai, R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ORP5+and+ORP8+bind+phosphatidylinositol-4,+5-biphosphate+(PtdIns(4,5)P+2)+and+regulate+its+level+at+the+plasma+membrane.">ORP5 and ORP8 bind phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-biphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P 2) and regulate its level at the plasma membrane.</a> Nature Communications. 8, 757 (2017).</li><li>Monteiro-Cardoso, V. F., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ORP5/8+and+MIB/MICOS+link+ER-mitochondria+and+intra-mitochondrial+contacts+for+non-vesicular+transport+of+phosphatidylserine.">ORP5/8 and MIB/MICOS link ER-mitochondria and intra-mitochondrial contacts for non-vesicular transport of phosphatidylserine.</a> Cell Reports. 40 (12), 111364 (2022).</li><li>Du, X., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ORP5+localizes+to+ER-lipid+droplet+contacts+and+regulates+the+level+of+PI(4)P+on+lipid+droplets.">ORP5 localizes to ER-lipid droplet contacts and regulates the level of PI(4)P on lipid droplets.</a> Journal of Cell Biology. 219 (1), e201905162 (2020).</li><li>Guyard, V., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ORP5+and+ORP8+orchestrate+lipid+droplet+biogenesis+and+maintenance+at+ER-mitochondria+contact+sites.">ORP5 and ORP8 orchestrate lipid droplet biogenesis and maintenance at ER-mitochondria contact sites.</a> The Journal of Cell Biology. 221 (9), e202112107 (2022).</li><li>Ran, F. A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genome+engineering+using+the+CRISPR-Cas9+system.">Genome engineering using the CRISPR-Cas9 system.</a> Nature Protocols. 8 (11), 2281-2308 (2013).</li></ol>

This protocol was designed to identify and quantify inter-organelle protein PLA interactions at MCSs, in particular at MERCSs. The novelty of the protocol is that it combines PLA with the labeling of multiple organelles, confocal microscopy, and 3D image analysis to localize and quantify PLA interactions between two proteins residing in the same membrane, in this case within the ER membrane in close proximity with the membrane of mitochondria (MAM) or with the MAM and LDs simultaneously. This protocol can be used as a to...

Inter-organelle communication is a defining characteristic of eukaryotic cells. One way in which organelles communicate is by forming membrane contact sites (MCSs), which are close membrane oppositions between two organelles that are maintained by structural and functional proteins, such as tethers, lipid transfer proteins, and calcium channels1. MCSs can be established between similar or different organelles, and they mediate the exchange of cellular components, which is important for maintaining cellular homeostasis. To date, several MCSs have been identified, including endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mitochondria, ER-plasma membrane (PM), and ER-lipid droplet (LD) contacts1. Among them, those formed between the ER and the mitochondria (MERCSs) are among the most studied as they are involved in the regulation of several cellular functions, including lipid and calcium homeostasis2. As mitochondria are largely excluded from the classical vesicular transport pathways, they rely on MERCS and on their molecular constituents to import key lipids or lipid precursors from the ER. The non-vesicular transport of these lipids across MERCSs ensures the maintenance of proper mitochondrial lipid composition, as well as their functional and structural integrity3.
Given the crucial involvement of MCSs in various cellular functions, the interest in providing a deeper understanding of their molecular components has greatly increased in the last years. Several types of imaging-based approaches have been used to advance the knowledge on MCSs. Among them, the fluorescence probe-based proximity ligation assay (PLA) has been widely used as an indicator of the abundance of MCSs by detecting inter-organelle protein-protein interactions (in a detection range of 40 nm) at endogenous levels4. For instance, MERCSs have been visualized and quantified by using PLA between several mitochondria-ER proteins pairs, including VDAC1-IP3R, GRP75-IP3R, CypD-IP3, and PTPIP51-VAPB5,6,7,8. Although this technology has been used to detect and quantify inter-organelle protein-protein interactions that are present at the MCS5,7,9,10,11, most of the studies did not combine PLA with organelle staining. Consequently, a quantitative method that allows the measurement of the proximity between PLA interactions and associated organelles has not been developed yet. Thus, so far, in the case of ER proteins, their interaction within membrane subdomains in contact with other organelles has not been distinguished from their interaction within the widely distributed ER network.
Here, we describe a protocol to detect PLA interactions between proteins that reside in the membrane of the same organelle and to analyze their proximity to the membrane of the partner organelle at the MCS. This protocol was developed based on two premises: 1) previous studies showing that, in overexpression conditions, the ER lipid transfer proteins ORP5 and ORP8 co-localize and interact at ER-mitochondria and ER-PM MCSs12,13,14,15 and that ORP5 localizes at ER-LD contacts16,17; 2) existing technologies, including PLA, confocal microscopy, organelle labeling, and 3D imaging analysis.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1X Dulbecco&#39;s Phosphate Buffered Saline (1X DPBS)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>14190-094</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ammonium chloride (NH4Cl)</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>21236.291</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine serum albumin (BSA)</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>A7906</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Circular glass coverslips 13mm no. 1.5</td>
			<td>Agar Scientific</td>
			<td>L46R13-15</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CMXRos red MitoTracker</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>M7512</td>
			<td>red mitochondrial marker</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Confocal inverted microscope SP8-X</td>
			<td>Leica</td>
			<td>DMI 6000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Corning Costar TC-Treated 24-Well Plates</td>
			<td>Merck</td>
			<td>CLS3526</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Duolink In Situ Detection Reagents Green&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>DUO92002</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Duolink In Situ Mounting Medium with DAPI&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>DUO82040</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Duolink In Situ PLA Probe Anti-Mouse MINUS&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>DUO92004</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Duolink In Situ PLA Probe Anti-Rabbit PLUS</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>DUO92014</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Duolink In Situ Wash Buffers, Fluorescence&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>DUO82049</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Gibco Opti-MEM I Reduced Serum Medium, GlutaMAX Supplement&#160;</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>51985026</td>
			<td>serum free medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Imaris software v 9.3</td>
			<td>Bitplane</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>cell imaging software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Incubator UINCU-line IL10</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>390-0384</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microscope slide StarFrost (3&#8220; x 1&#8220;)&#160;</td>
			<td>Knittel Glass</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>mouse anti-ORP8&#160;</td>
			<td>Santa Cruz</td>
			<td>134409</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Paraformaldehyde (PFA)</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>P6148</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>rabbit anti-ORP5&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>HAP038712</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Saponin</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>84510</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ultra Pure Distilled Water, DNase/RNase free</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>10977-035</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

visualization and quantification of endogenous intra-organelle protein interactions at er-mitochondria contact sites by proximity ligation assays

Membrane contact sites (MCSs) are areas of close membrane proximity that allow and regulate the dynamic exchange of diverse biomolecules (i.e., calcium and lipids) between the juxtaposed organelles without involving membrane fusion. MCSs are essential for cellular homeostasis, and their functions are ensured by the resident components, which often exist as multimeric protein complexes. MCSs often involve the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a major site of lipid synthesis and cellular calcium storage, and are particularly important for organelles, such as the mitochondria, which are excluded from the classical vesicular transport pathways. In the last years, MCSs between the ER and mitochondria have been extensively studied, as their functions strongly impact cellular metabolism/bioenergetics. Several proteins have started to be identified at these contact sites, including membrane tethers, calcium channels, and lipid transfer proteins, thus raising the need for new methodologies and technical approaches to study these MCS components. Here, we describe a protocol consisting of combined technical approaches, that include proximity ligation assay (PLA), mitochondria staining, and 3D imaging segmentation, that allows the detection of proteins that are physically close (&gt;40 nm) to each other and that reside on the same membrane at ER-mitochondria MCSs. For instance, we used two ER-anchored lipid transfer proteins, ORP5 and ORP8, which have previously been shown to interact and localize at ER-mitochondria and ER-plasma membrane MCSs. By associating the ORP5-ORP8 PLA with cell imaging software analysis, it was possible to estimate the distance of the ORP5-ORP8 complex from the mitochondrial surface and determine that about 50% of ORP5-ORP8 PLA interaction occurs at ER subdomains in close proximity to mitochondria.

Using the protocol described above, we detected the sites of interaction of two ER-anchored lipid transfer proteins, ORP5 and ORP8, and assessed their occurrence at ER membrane subdomains in contact with other organelles, in particular, with the mitochondria. For that, the mitochondrial network in HeLa cells was stained with a red mitochondrial marker, and ORP5-ORP8 PLA green spots were detected after fixation using the primary antibodies anti-ORP5 and anti-ORP8, whose specificity was previously tested by immunofluoresce...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Visualization and Quantification of Endogenous Intra-Organelle Protein Interactions at ER-Mitochondria Contact Sites by Proximity Ligation Assays at JoVE.com

Visualization and Quantification of Endogenous Intra-Organelle Protein Interactions at ER-Mitochondria Contact Sites by Proximity Ligation Assays

The need for new approaches to study membrane contact sites (MCSs) has grown due to increasing interest in studying these cellular structures and their components. Here, we present a protocol that integrates previously available microscopy technologies to identify and quantify intra-organelle and inter-organelle protein complexes that reside at MCSs.

Membrane contact sites (MCSs) are areas of close membrane proximity that allow and regulate the dynamic exchange of diverse biomolecules (i.e., calcium ...

Our PLA protocol allows to identify and to quantify endogenous interaction between proteins at membrane contact sites. We have used it to study the interaction between two endoplasmic reticulum proteins at endoplasmic reticulum mitochondrial contact sites. This technique combines PLA with organelle stainings and analysis of organelles'distances.It allows to localize and to quantify in interaction between proteins at inter-organelles'membrane contact sites. After performing proximity ligation assay, or PLA, and image acquisition, set up the cell analysis software to start MATLAB and launch an extension by clicking the option Imaris in the Mac operating system or edit menu in Windows. Select the preferences, change to the custom tools panel, and set the path.To import the images into the software, convert the confocal stack images into a IMS file, either directly through the arena section or using the standalone file converter that allows batch conversion. After the importation, click on edit, go to image properties, and select image geometry to check the image calibration. Check that the voxel size corresponds to the pixel size expected for the actual image in X and Y, and the step applied by the microscope to generate the Z stack in Z.To adjust the contrast of the different channels click edit in the menu, go to the display adjustment, and select show display adjustment.Adjust each channel independently to optimize the display of each color. This step is essential to set precise thresholds or detect weak objects. Then, click edit and select crop 3D to limit the analysis to a single cell by cropping the image.To analyze another cell in the same field of view, open the same image again and crop it differently. Detect the PLA signals generated at the location of ORP5 and ORP8 interaction by clicking on the add new spots option, which creates a new set of objects and opens the spot detection wizard. Select the channel on which the spot detection should be performed.Adjust the estimated XY diameter to help the spot detection algorithm to find the objects of interest. If the chosen value is too high, the nearby objects will fuse, and if the value is too small, aberrant signals may be detected. Now, click on background subtraction to remove the image background before spot detection to enhance the local contrast around the objects of interest.Adjust the spot detection threshold by keeping the quality as the threshold parameter in the software auto threshold, or slightly modify this value to detect all the objects. Once the spot detection is finished, save the detection parameters and reuse them to process other images. Then, detect the mitochondrial network to generate a surface rendering by clicking on add new surfaces to create a new object and open the surface detection wizard.Select the channel on which the surface creation should be performed. Apply Gaussian filter to obtain a smoother surface by clicking the smooth checkbox, and setting a threshold indicating the minor details observable on the surface. Afterward, perform a background subtraction to enhance the local contrasts and adjust the threshold to detect the mitochondrial network based on the intensity of the signal.Apply a filter on the surface to remove small residuals from the threshold by selecting the number of voxels filter on the classify surface window, and play with the upper and lower thresholds to keep only the objects of interest. Once the surface creation is over, save the creation parameters and reuse them to process other images. To generate a distance map outside the created mitochondrial surface, select the mitochondria surface in the scene tree box.Click image processing and select surfaces function, followed by distance transformation. A MATLAB extension asking the user to choose whether the map should be computed outside or inside the object surface will show up. Select outside surface object to measure the distance between the PLA spots and the surface of the mitochondria.Once the map is generated, it appears as a new channel in the display adjustment panel. In this channel, every pixel has a value corresponding to the distance to the closest mitochondria. Select the spots previously generated in the scene tree box to measure the distance from each point to the closest mitochondrion, and identify and visualize the closest ones.Now, select specific values and center intensity of the channel corresponding to the distance map in the statistics and detailed log to measure the value of each spot center, which corresponds to its distance to the closest to mitochondrion in the distance map. Export the data as a CSV file by clicking on the floppy disk icon at the bottom left of the window. To extract a subpopulation of spots based on their distances to mitochondria, select the spots in the scene tree and click on the filters tab.Add a new filter based on the center intensity of the channel corresponding to the distance map in this window, and extract the spots less than 380 nanometers away from the mitochondria by setting the lower threshold to zero micrometers and the upper threshold to 0.380 micrometers. Perform a duplication step by pressing the duplicate selection to new spots button to focus on the selected spots. Confocal images of endogenous ORP5-ORP8 PLA showed interactions in the HeLa cells in the reticular ER, cortical ER, and ER subdomains in close contact with mitochondria, commonly referred to as mitochondria-associated ER membranes.3D imaging analysis revealed that about 50%of endogenous ORP5-ORP8 PLA interactions were detected at mitochondria-associated ER membranes. The percentage of ORP5-ORP8 PLA interactions occurring at mitochondria-associated ER membranes in cells co-overexpressing ORP5 and ORP8 was similar to that observed in cells where these proteins were expressed at endogenous levels. ORP5 and ORP8 downregulation induced a massive decrease in the total number of PLA signals, while their co-overexpression increased PLA.PLA signals were detected in ORP5-PTPIP51 and ORP8-PTPIP51 couples, and their average numbers were similar to the ORP5-ORP8 PLA couple, confirming ORP5 and ORP8 localization at ER-mitochondria membrane contact sites. Further, the interaction of ORP5-ORP8 PLA at ER plasma membrane contacts in a three-way contact site between mitochondria, the ER, and lipid droplets are identified using HeLa cells transfected with PHPLCD-RFP or mCherry-PLN1. As in any image analysis method, the image quality is a key point, so the optimization of the signal is decisive for the automatic detection of the objects.This technique can be also used to study the associations between two or multiple cellular organelles, as we did in our recent study on ORP5 and ORP8 function at the three-party ER, mitochondria, lipid droplets contact sites. This technique can be helpful in other studies in the intracellular communication field to identify novel multipartite inter-organelle associations.

visualization-quantification-endogenous-intra-organelle-protein

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Imaging Protein-protein Interactions in vivo

Protein-protein interactions are a hallmark of all essential cellular processes. However, many of these interactions are transient, or energetically weak, preventing their identification and analysis through traditional biochemical methods such as co-immunoprecipitation. In this regard, the genetically encodable fluorescent proteins (GFP, RFP, etc.) and their associated overlapping fluorescence spectrum have revolutionized our ability to monitor weak interactions in vivo using F&ouml;rster resonance energy transfer (FRET)1-3. Here, we detail our use of a FRET-based proximity assay for monitoring receptor-receptor interactions on the endothelial cell surface.

Imaging Protein-protein Interactions in vivo

This protocol describes how to image protein-protein interactions using a FRET-based proximity assay.

Protein-protein interactions are a hallmark of all essential cellular processes. However, many of these interactions are transient, or energetically weak, ...

In vivo Quantification of G Protein Coupled Receptor Interactions using Spectrally Resolved Two-photon Microscopy

The study of protein interactions in living cells is an important area of research because the information accumulated both benefits industrial applications as well as increases basic fundamental biological knowledge. F&ouml;rster (Fluorescence) Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) between a donor molecule in an electronically excited state and a nearby acceptor molecule has been frequently utilized for studies of protein-protein interactions in living cells. The proteins of interest are tagged with two different types of fluorescent probes and expressed in biological cells. The fluorescent probes are then excited, typically using laser light, and the spectral properties of the fluorescence emission emanating from the fluorescent probes is collected and analyzed. Information regarding the degree of the protein interactions is embedded in the spectral emission data. Typically, the cell must be scanned a number of times in order to accumulate enough spectral information to accurately quantify the extent of the protein interactions for each region of interest within the cell. However, the molecular composition of these regions may change during the course of the acquisition process, limiting the spatial determination of the quantitative values of the apparent FRET efficiencies to an average over entire cells. By means of a spectrally resolved two-photon microscope, we are able to obtain a full set of spectrally resolved images after only one complete excitation scan of the sample of interest. From this pixel-level spectral data, a map of FRET efficiencies throughout the cell is calculated. By applying a simple theory of FRET in oligomeric complexes to the experimentally obtained distribution of FRET efficiencies throughout the cell, a single spectrally resolved scan reveals stoichiometric and structural information about the oligomer complex under study. Here we describe the procedure of preparing biological cells (the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae) expressing membrane receptors (sterile 2 &alpha;-factor receptors) tagged with two different types of fluorescent probes. Furthermore, we illustrate critical factors involved in collecting fluorescence data using the spectrally resolved two-photon microscopy imaging system. The use of this protocol may be extended to study any type of protein which can be expressed in a living cell with a fluorescent marker attached to it.

In vivo Quantification of G Protein Coupled Receptor Interactions using Spectrally Resolved Two-photon Microscopy

By employing a spectrally resolved two-photon microscopy imaging system, pixel-level maps of F&ouml;rster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) efficiencies are obtained for cells expressing membrane receptors hypothesized to form homo-oligomeric complexes. From the FRET efficiency maps, we are able to estimate stoichiometric information about the oligomer complex under study.

The study of protein interactions in living cells is an important area of research because the information accumulated both benefits industrial ...

The MultiBac Protein Complex Production Platform at the EMBL

Proteomics research revealed the impressive complexity of eukaryotic proteomes in unprecedented detail. It is now a commonly accepted notion that proteins in cells mostly exist not as isolated entities but exert their biological activity in association with many other proteins, in humans ten or more, forming assembly lines in the cell for most if not all vital functions.1,2 Knowledge of the function and architecture of these multiprotein assemblies requires their provision in superior quality and sufficient quantity for detailed analysis. The paucity of many protein complexes in cells, in particular in eukaryotes, prohibits their extraction from native sources, and necessitates recombinant production. The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) has proven to be particularly useful for producing eukaryotic proteins, the activity of which often relies on post-translational processing that other commonly used expression systems often cannot support.3 BEVS use a recombinant baculovirus into which the gene of interest was inserted to infect insect cell cultures which in turn produce the protein of choice. MultiBac is a BEVS that has been particularly tailored for the production of eukaryotic protein complexes that contain many subunits.4 A vital prerequisite for efficient production of proteins and their complexes are robust protocols for all steps involved in an expression experiment that ideally can be implemented as standard operating procedures (SOPs) and followed also by non-specialist users with comparative ease. The MultiBac platform at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) uses SOPs for all steps involved in a multiprotein complex expression experiment, starting from insertion of the genes into an engineered baculoviral genome optimized for heterologous protein production properties to small-scale analysis of the protein specimens produced.5-8 The platform is installed in an open-access mode at EMBL Grenoble and has supported many scientists from academia and industry to accelerate protein complex research projects.

Protein complexes catalyze key cellular functions. Detailed functional and structural characterization of many essential complexes requires recombinant production. MultiBac is a baculovirus/insect cell system particularly tailored for expressing eukaryotic proteins and their complexes. MultiBac was implemented as an open-access platform, and standard operating procedures developed to maximize its utility.

Proteomics  research revealed the impressive complexity of eukaryotic proteomes in  unprecedented detail. It is now a commonly accepted notion that ...

Protein-protein Interactions Visualized by Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation in Tobacco Protoplasts and Leaves

Many proteins interact transiently with other proteins or are integrated into multi-protein complexes to perform their biological function. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) is an in vivo method to monitor such interactions in plant cells. In the presented protocol the investigated candidate proteins are fused to complementary halves of fluorescent proteins and the respective constructs are introduced into plant cells via agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Subsequently, the proteins are transiently expressed in tobacco leaves and the restored fluorescent signals can be detected with a confocal laser scanning microscope in the intact cells. This allows not only visualization of the interaction itself, but also the subcellular localization of the protein complexes can be determined. For this purpose, marker genes containing a fluorescent tag can be coexpressed along with the BiFC constructs, thus visualizing cellular structures such as the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, the Golgi apparatus or the plasma membrane. The fluorescent signal can be monitored either directly in epidermal leaf cells or in single protoplasts, which can be easily isolated from the transformed tobacco leaves. BiFC is ideally suited to study protein-protein interactions in their natural surroundings within the living cell. However, it has to be considered that the expression has to be driven by strong promoters and that the interaction partners are modified due to fusion of the relatively large fluorescence tags, which might interfere with the interaction mechanism. Nevertheless, BiFC is an excellent complementary approach to other commonly applied methods investigating protein-protein interactions, such as coimmunoprecipitation, in vitro pull-down assays or yeast-two-hybrid experiments.

Formation of protein complexes in vivo can be visualized by bimolecular fluorescence complementation. Interaction partners are fused to complementary parts of fluorescent tags and transiently expressed in tobacco leaves, resulting in a reconstituted fluorescent signal upon close proximity of the two proteins.

Many proteins interact transiently with other proteins or are integrated into multi-protein complexes to perform their biological function. Bimolecular ...

Identifying Protein-protein Interaction Sites Using Peptide Arrays

Protein-protein interactions mediate most of the processes in the living cell and control homeostasis of the organism. Impaired protein interactions may result in disease, making protein interactions important drug targets. It is thus highly important to understand these interactions at the molecular level. Protein interactions are studied using a variety of techniques ranging from cellular and biochemical assays to quantitative biophysical assays, and these may be performed either with full-length proteins, with protein domains or with peptides. Peptides serve as excellent tools to study protein interactions since peptides can be easily synthesized and allow the focusing on specific interaction sites. Peptide arrays enable the identification of the interaction sites between two proteins as well as screening for peptides that bind the target protein for therapeutic purposes. They also allow high throughput SAR studies. For identification of binding sites, a typical peptide array usually contains partly overlapping 10-20 residues peptides derived from the full sequences of one or more partner proteins of the desired target protein. Screening the array for binding the target protein reveals the binding peptides, corresponding to the binding sites in the partner proteins, in an easy and fast method using only small amount of protein.
In this article we describe a protocol for screening peptide arrays for mapping the interaction sites between a target protein and its partners. The peptide array is designed based on the sequences of the partner proteins taking into account their secondary structures. The arrays used in this protocol were Celluspots arrays prepared by INTAVIS Bioanalytical Instruments. The array is blocked to prevent unspecific binding and then incubated with the studied protein. Detection using an antibody reveals the binding peptides corresponding to the specific interaction sites between the proteins.

Peptide array screening is a high throughput assay for identifying protein-protein interaction sites. This allows mapping multiple interactions of a target protein and can serve as a method for identifying sites for inhibitors that target a protein. Here we describe a protocol for screening and analyzing peptide arrays.

Protein-protein interactions mediate most of the processes in the living cell and control homeostasis of the organism. Impaired protein interactions may ...

Preparation, Imaging, and Quantification of Bacterial Surface Motility Assays

Bacterial surface motility, such as swarming, is commonly examined in the laboratory using plate assays that necessitate specific concentrations of agar and sometimes inclusion of specific nutrients in the growth medium. The preparation of such explicit media and surface growth conditions serves to provide the favorable conditions that allow not just bacterial growth but coordinated motility of bacteria over these surfaces within thin liquid films. Reproducibility of swarm plate and other surface motility plate assays can be a major challenge. Especially for more &#8220;temperate swarmers&#8221; that exhibit motility only within agar ranges of 0.4%-0.8% (wt/vol), minor changes in protocol or laboratory environment can greatly influence swarm assay results. &#8220;Wettability&#8221;, or water content at the liquid-solid-air interface of these plate assays, is often a key variable to be controlled. An additional challenge in assessing swarming is how to quantify observed differences between any two (or more) experiments. Here we detail a versatile two-phase protocol to prepare and image swarm assays. We include guidelines to circumvent the challenges commonly associated with swarm assay media preparation and quantification of data from these assays. We specifically demonstrate our method using bacteria that express fluorescent or bioluminescent genetic reporters like green fluorescent protein (GFP), luciferase (lux operon), or cellular stains to enable time-lapse optical imaging. We further demonstrate the ability of our method to track competing swarming species in the same experiment.

Swarming motility is influenced by physical and environmental factors. We describe a two-phase protocol and guidelines to circumvent the challenges commonly associated with swarm assay preparation and data collection. A macroscopic imaging technique is employed to obtain detailed information on swarm behavior that is not provided by current analysis techniques.

Bacterial surface motility, such as swarming, is commonly examined in the laboratory using plate assays that necessitate specific concentrations of agar ...

Green Fluorescent Protein-based Expression Screening of Membrane Proteins in Escherichia coli

The production of recombinant membrane proteins for structural and functional studies remains technically challenging due to low levels of expression and the inherent instability of many membrane proteins once solubilized in detergents. A protocol is described that combines ligation independent cloning of membrane proteins as GFP fusions with expression in Escherichia coli detected by GFP fluorescence. This enables the construction and expression screening of multiple membrane protein/variants to identify candidates suitable for further investment of time and effort. The GFP reporter is used in a primary screen of expression by visualizing GFP fluorescence following SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Membrane proteins that show both a high expression level with minimum degradation as indicated by the absence of free GFP, are selected for a secondary screen. These constructs are scaled and a total membrane fraction prepared and solubilized in four different detergents. Following ultracentrifugation to remove detergent-insoluble material, lysates are analyzed by fluorescence detection size exclusion chromatography (FSEC). Monitoring the size exclusion profile by GFP fluorescence provides information about the mono-dispersity and integrity of the membrane proteins in different detergents. Protein: detergent combinations that elute with a symmetrical peak with little or no free GFP and minimum aggregation are candidates for subsequent purification. Using the above methodology, the heterologous expression in E. coli of SED (shape, elongation, division, and sporulation) proteins from 47 different species of bacteria was analyzed. These proteins typically have ten transmembrane domains and are essential for cell division. The results show that the production of the SEDs orthologues in E. coli was highly variable with respect to the expression levels and integrity of the GFP fusion proteins. The experiment identified a subset for further investigation.

Green Fluorescent Protein-based Expression Screening of Membrane Proteins in Escherichia coli

A streamlined approach to screening for the expression of recombinant membrane proteins in Escherichia coli based on fusion to green fluorescent protein is presented.

The production of recombinant membrane proteins for structural and functional studies remains technically challenging due to low levels of expression and ...

Study of Endoplasmic Reticulum and Mitochondria Interactions by In Situ Proximity Ligation Assay in Fixed Cells

Structural interactions between the endoplasmic reticular (ER) and mitochondrial membranes, in domains known as mitochondria-associated membranes (MAM), are crucial hubs for cellular signaling and cell fate. Particularly, these inter-organelle contact sites allow the transfer of calcium from the ER to mitochondria through the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC)/glucose-regulated protein 75 (GRP75)/inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (IP3R) calcium channeling complex. While this subcellular compartment is under intense investigation in both physiological and pathological conditions, no simple and sensitive method exists to quantify the endogenous amount of ER-mitochondria contact in cells. Similarly, MAMs are highly dynamic structures, and there is no suitable approach to follow modifications of ER-mitochondria interactions without protein overexpression. Here, we report an optimized protocol based on the use of an in situ proximity ligation assay to visualize and quantify endogenous ER-mitochondria interactions in fixed cells by using the close proximity between proteins of the outer mitochondrial membrane (VDAC1) and of the ER membrane (IP3R1) at the MAM interface. Similar in situ proximity ligation experiments can also be performed with the GRP75/IP3R1 and cyclophilin D/IP3R1 pairs of antibodies. This assay provides several advantages over other imaging procedures, as it is highly specific, sensitive, and suitable to multiple-condition testing. Therefore, the use of this in situ proximity ligation assay should be helpful to better understand the physiological regulations of ER-mitochondria interactions, as well as their role in pathological contexts.

Study of Endoplasmic Reticulum and Mitochondria Interactions by In Situ Proximity Ligation Assay in Fixed Cells

Here, we describe a procedure to visualize and quantify with high sensitivity the endogenous interactions between the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria in fixed cells. The protocol features an optimized in situ proximity ligation assay targeting the inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor/glucose-regulated protein 75/voltage-dependent anion channel/cyclophilin D complex at the mitochondria-associated membrane interface.

Structural interactions between the endoplasmic reticular (ER) and mitochondrial membranes, in domains known as mitochondria-associated membranes (MAM), ...

Study of Protein-protein Interactions in Autophagy Research

Protein-protein interactions are important for understanding cellular signaling cascades and identifying novel pathway components and protein dynamics. The majority of cellular activities require physical interactions between proteins. To analyze and map these interactions, various experimental techniques as well as bioinformatics tools were developed. Autophagy is a cellular recycling mechanism that allows the cells to cope with different stressors, including nutrient deprivation, chemicals, and hypoxia. In order to better understand autophagy-related signaling events and to discover novel factors that regulate protein complexes in autophagy, we performed protein-protein interaction screens. Validation of these screening results requires the use of immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation techniques. In this system, specific autophagy-related protein-protein interactions that we discovered were tested in Neuro2A (N2A) and HEK293T cell lines. Details of the technical procedures used are explained in this visualized experiment paper.

Presented here are two antibody-based protein-protein interaction research techniques: immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation. These techniques are suitable for studying physical interactions between proteins for the discovery of novel components of cellular signaling pathways and for understanding protein dynamics.

Protein-protein interactions are important for understanding cellular signaling cascades and identifying novel pathway components and protein dynamics. ...

Advanced Confocal Microscopy Techniques to Study Protein-protein Interactions and Kinetics at DNA Lesions

Local microirradiation with lasers represents a useful tool for studies of DNA-repair-related processes in live cells. Here, we describe a methodological approach to analyzing protein kinetics at DNA lesions over time or protein-protein interactions on locally microirradiated chromatin. We also show how to recognize individual phases of the cell cycle using the Fucci cellular system to study cell-cycle-dependent protein kinetics at DNA lesions. A methodological description of the use of two UV lasers (355 nm and 405 nm) to induce different types of DNA damage is also presented. Only the cells microirradiated by the 405-nm diode laser proceeded through mitosis normally and were devoid of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs). We also show how microirradiated cells can be fixed at a given time point to perform immunodetection of the endogenous proteins of interest. For the DNA repair studies, we additionally describe the use of biophysical methods including FRAP (Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching) and FLIM (Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy) in cells with spontaneously occurring DNA damage foci. We also show an application of FLIM-FRET (Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer) in experimental studies of protein-protein interactions.

Laser microirradiation is a useful tool for studies of DNA repair in living cells. A methodological approach for the use of UVA lasers to induce various DNA lesions is shown. We have optimized a method for local microirradiation that maintains the normal cell cycle; thus, irradiated cells proceed through mitosis.

Local microirradiation with lasers represents a useful tool for studies of DNA-repair-related processes in live cells. Here, we describe a methodological ...