Tyramide Signal Amplification for the Immunofluorescent Staining of ZBP1-Dependent Phosphorylation of RIPK3 and MLKL After HSV-1 Infection in Human Cells

The kinase Receptor-interacting serine/threonine protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) and its substrate mixed lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL) are critical regulators of necroptosis, an inflammatory form of cell death with important antiviral functions. Autophosphorylation of RIPK3 induces phosphorylation and activation of the pore-forming executioner protein of necroptosis MLKL. Trafficking and oligomerization of phosphorylated MLKL at the cell membrane results in cell lysis, characteristic of necroptotic cell death. The nucleic acid sensor ZBP1 is activated by binding to left-handed Z-form double-stranded RNA (Z-RNA) after infection with RNA and DNA viruses. ZBP1 activation restricts virus infection by inducing regulated cell death, including necroptosis, of infected host cells. Immunofluorescence microscopy permits the visualization of different signaling steps downstream of ZBP1-mediated necroptosis on a per-cell basis. However, the sensitivity of standard fluorescence microscopy, using current commercially available phospho-specific antibodies against human RIPK3 and MLKL, precludes reproducible imaging of these markers. Here, we describe an optimized staining procedure for serine (S) phosphorylated RIPK3 (S227) and MLKL (S358) in human HT-29 cells infected with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). The inclusion of a tyramide signal amplification (TSA) step in the immunofluorescent staining protocol allows the specific detection of S227 phosphorylated RIPK3. Moreover, TSA greatly increases the sensitivity of the detection of S358 phosphorylated MLKL. Together, this method enables the visualization of these two critical signaling events during the induction of ZBP1-induced necroptosis.