Functional Site-Directed Fluorometry in Native Cells to Study Skeletal Muscle Excitability

Summary

Functional site-directed fluorometry is a method to study protein domain motions in real time. Modification of this technique for its application in native cells now allows the detection and tracking of single voltage-sensor motions from voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels in murine isolated skeletal muscle fibers.

Abstract

Functional site-directed fluorometry has been the technique of choice to investigate the structure-function relationship of numerous membrane proteins, including voltage-gated ion channels. This approach has been used primarily in heterologous expression systems to simultaneously measure membrane currents, the electrical manifestation of the channels' activity, and fluorescence measurements, reporting local domain rearrangements. Functional site-directed fluorometry combines electrophysiology, molecular biology, chemistry, and fluorescence into a single wide-ranging technique that permits the study of real-time structural rearrangements and function through fluorescence and electrophysiology, respectively. Typically, this approach requires an engineered voltage-gated membrane channel that contains a cysteine that can be tested by a thiol-reactive fluorescent dye. Until recently, the thiol-reactive chemistry used for the site-directed fluorescent labeling of proteins was carried out exclusively in Xenopus oocytes and cell lines, restricting the scope of the approach to primary non-excitable cells. This report describes the applicability of functional site-directed fluorometry in adult skeletal muscle cells to study the early steps of excitation-contraction coupling, the process by which muscle fiber electrical depolarization is linked to the activation of muscle contraction. The present protocol describes the methodologies to design and transfect cysteine-engineered voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels (Ca_V1.1) into muscle fibers of the flexor digitorum brevis of adult mice using in vivo electroporation and the subsequent steps required for functional site-directed fluorometry measurements. This approach can be adapted to study other ion channels and proteins. The use of functional site-directed fluorometry of mammalian muscle is particularly relevant to studying basic mechanisms of excitability.

Introduction

The ability to track ion channel conformational rearrangements in response to a known electrical stimulus in a living cell is a source of valuable information for molecular physiology¹. Voltage-gated ion channels are membrane proteins that sense changes in transmembrane voltage, and their function is also affected by voltage changes². The development of voltage clamp techniques in the last century allowed physiologists to study, in real-time, ionic currents carried by voltage-gated ion channels in response to membrane depolarization³. The use of voltage clamp technology has been crucial in underst....

Protocol

This protocol was approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The following protocol has been divided into multiple subsections, consisting of (1) molecular construct design and cysteine reacting dye selection, (2) in vivo electroporation, (3) muscle dissection and fiber isolation, (4) acquisition setup description, (5) assessment of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) positive fiber electrical activity and cysteine staining, and (6) signal acquisition and processing.......

Discussion

Here, a step-by-step protocol to conduct FSDF in muscle fibers for the study of individual voltage sensor motions from the Ca_V1.1 channel is described. Even though the number of steps and the diversity of approaches that are combined in this technique may appear complex, most of these techniques are often routinely used in biophysicist/cell biologist laboratories. Thus, the apparent complexity resides mainly in the combination of all the various approaches in a single integrated technique. Often when carrying .......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Hyaluronidase	SIGMA ALDRICH	H3884-50mg
0.5 mL Eppendorf tube	Millipore Sigma	EP022363719-500EA
1 mL syringe	Millipore Sigma	Z683531-100EA	tuberculine slip tip
1/2” long 29-gauge sterile insulin needle and syringe	Becton Dikinson	324702
35 mm non coated plastic plate	Falcon, Corning	353001
60 mm non coated plastic plate	Falcon, Corning	351007
Alcoholic whip	PDI	B60307
Alexa-533 cube LP	Chroma	49907	Ex: 530/30x; BS: 532; Em: 550lp
Arc lamp	Sutter Instrumets	LB-LS 672
Artificial tears cream	Akorn	NDC 59399-162-35
Borosilicate glass Pasteur pipet 5 3/4"	VWR	14672-200
BTS (N-benzyl-p-toluene sulphonamide)	SIGMA ALDRICH	203895
collagenase type I	SIGMA ALDRICH	C0130-1g
Cotton tip	VWR	VWR-76048-960-BG
Double electrode array  (for electroporation)	BTX harvard apparatus	45-0120	10mm 2 needle array tips
EGFP cube	Chroma	39002AT	Ex: 480/30x; BS 505; Em: 535/40m
Electroporation apparatus device	BTX harvard apparatus	ECM 830
EPC10	HEKA Elektronik GmbH  (Harvard Bioscience)	895000
FBS	Biotechne,  R&D Systems	RND-S11150H	Fetal Bovine Serum - Premium, Heat Inactivated
glass coverslip 35 mm dish	MatTek Life Science	P35G-1.5-14-C
Isoflurane	Fluriso (Isoflurane) Liquid for Inhalation	502017-250ml
Isothermal heating pad	Braintree scientific inc	39DP
Laminin	Thermo Fisher	INV-23017015	Laminin Mouse Protein, Natural
Latex bulb	VWR	82024-554
LED 530 nm	Sutter Instrumets	5A-530
Low binding protein 0.2 μm sterile filter	Pall	FG4579	acrodisk  syringe filter 0.2um supor membrane low protein binding non pyrogenic
MEM	Invitrogen	INV-11380037
MTS-5-TAMRA	Biotium	89410-784	MTS-5-TAMRA
OriginPro Analysis Software	OriginLab Corporation	OriginPro 2022 (64-bit) SR1
Photodiode	Custom Made	NA
PlanApo 60x oil  1.4 N.A/∞/0.17	Olympus	BFPC2
Platinum wire 0.5 mm, 99.9 % metals basis	SIGMA	267228-1G	To manufacyte field stimulation electrode
Pulse Generator	WPI	Pulsemaster A300
Shutter drive controller	Uniblitz	100-2B
Shuttter	Uniblitz	VS2582T0-100
S-MEM	Invitrogen	INV-11380037
Sterile bench pad	VWR	DSI-B1623
Sterile saline	SIGMA ALDRICH	S8776
Sylgard 184 Silicone Elastomer kit	Dow Corning	1419447-1198
Vaporizer for Anesthesia	Parkland Scientific	V3000PK
Voltage generator	Custom Made	NA