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Abstract

Introduction

Protocol

Representative Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Materials

References

Biology

Single-Molecule Measurement of Protein Interaction Dynamics Within Biomolecular Condensates

Published: January 5th, 2024

DOI:

10.3791/66169

1Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 2Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology

Many intrinsically disordered proteins have been shown to participate in the formation of highly dynamic biomolecular condensates, a behavior important for numerous cellular processes. Here, we present a single-molecule imaging-based method for quantifying the dynamics by which proteins interact with each other in biomolecular condensates in live cells.

Biomolecular condensates formed via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) have been considered critical in cellular organization and an increasing number of cellular functions. Characterizing LLPS in live cells is also important because aberrant condensation has been linked to numerous diseases, including cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. LLPS is often driven by selective, transient, and multivalent interactions between intrinsically disordered proteins. Of great interest are the interaction dynamics of proteins participating in LLPS, which are well-summarized by measurements of their binding residence time (RT), that is, the amount of time they spend bound within condensates. Here, we present a method based on live-cell single-molecule imaging that allows us to measure the mean RT of a specific protein within condensates. We simultaneously visualize individual protein molecules and the condensates with which they associate, use single-particle tracking (SPT) to plot single-molecule trajectories, and then fit the trajectories to a model of protein-droplet binding to extract the mean RT of the protein. Finally, we show representative results where this single-molecule imaging method was applied to compare the mean RTs of a protein at its LLPS condensates when fused and unfused to an oligomerizing domain. This protocol is broadly applicable to measuring the interaction dynamics of any protein that participates in LLPS.

A growing body of work suggests that biomolecular condensates play an important role in cellular organization and numerous cellular functions, e.g., transcriptional regulation1,2,3,4,5, DNA damage repair6,7,8, chromatin organization9,10,11,12, X-chromosome inactivation13....

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1. Labeling of proteins in cells

  1. Express the protein of interest fused to HaloTag in the desired cell line.
  2. Stably express Halo-tagged H2B in the same type of cells as in 1.1 using transposons or viral transduction.

2. Preparation of coverslips

  1. Before using coverslips for cell culture, clean coverslips to remove autofluorescent contaminants.
    1. Mount 25 mm diameter, #1.5 coverslips on a ceramic staining rack an.......

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Here, we present representative results from Irgen-Gioro et al.40, where we used this SPT protocol to compare the interaction dynamics of two proteins in their respective self-assembled LLPS condensates. TAF15 (TATA-box binding protein associated factor 15) contains an IDR that can undergo LLPS upon overexpression in human cells. We hypothesized that fusing TAF15(IDR) to FTH1 (ferritin heavy chain 1), which forms a 24-subunit oligomer, would lead to more stable homotypic protein-protein interactio.......

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The protocol as presented here is designed for systems like those investigated in Irgen-Gioro et al.40. Depending on the application, some components of the protocol can be modified, e.g., the method for generating fluorescently labeled cell lines, the fluorescent labeling system, and the style of coverslip used. Halo-tagging of a protein in a cell can be done using two strategies, depending on which is more suitable for a given experiment. 1) Exogenous expression: fusing the protein of interest t.......

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This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE-1745301 (S.Y.), Pew-Stewart Scholar Award (S.C.), Searle Scholar Award (S.C.), the Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation Research Grant (S.C.), Merkin Innovation Seed Grant (S.C.), the Mallinckrodt Research Grant (S.C.), and the Margaret E. Early Medical Research Trust 2024 Grant (S.C.). S.C. is also supported by the NIH/NCI under Award Number P30CA016042.

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NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
0.1 µm TetraSpeck microsphereInvitrogenT7279Single-molecule imaging
25 mm Diameter, #1.5 CoverslipsMarienfeld Superior111650Preparation of coverslips
593/40 nm bandpass filterSemrockFF01-593/40-25Single-molecule imaging
676/37 nm bandpass filterSemrockFF01-676/37-25Single-molecule imaging
6-Well TC PlateGenesee25-105MPPreparation of cells for microscopy
Cell Line: U-2 OSATCCHTB-96Labeling of proteins in cells
ConvertASCII_SlowTracking_css3
.m		Analysis of single-molecule imaging data: Available in Chong et al., 2018
Coverglass Staining RackThomas24957Preparation of coverslips
Deuterated Janelia Fluor 549 (JFX549)Janelia Research CampusPreparation of cells for microscopy
DMEM, Low GlucoseGibco10-567-022Labeling of proteins in cells: Growth media used: DMEM with 5% fetal bovine serum, 1% penstrep
Eclipse Ti2-E Inverted MicroscopeNikonSingle-molecule imaging
Ethanol 200 ProofLab AlleyEAP200-1GALPreparation of coverslips
evalSPTAnalysis of single-molecule imaging data: Available in Drosopoulos et al., 2020
Fetal Bovine SerumCytivaSH30396.03Labeling of proteins in cells: Growth media used: DMEM with 5% fetal bovine serum, 1% penstrep
FijiAnalysis of single-molecule imaging data
Ikon Ultra CCD CameraAndorX-13723Single-molecule imaging
Longpass dichroic beamsplitterSemrockDi02-R635-25x36Single-molecule imaging: Red/Far Red beamsplitter
LUN-F Laser UnitNikonSingle-molecule imaging: 405/488/561/640
MatTek glass-bottom dishMatTekP35G-1.5-20-CPreparation of cells for microscopy: 35 mm, #1.5 coverslip dish for cell culture.
NIS-ElementsNikonSingle-molecule imaging: Microscope acquisition software
nucleus and cluster mask_v2.txtAnalysis of single-molecule imaging data: Available in Chong et al., 2018
Penicillin-StreptomycinGibco15-140-122Labeling of proteins in cells: Growth media used: DMEM with 5% fetal bovine serum, 1% penstrep
Phosphate Buffered SalineThermo Fisher Scientific18912014Labeling of proteins in cells
Photoactivatable Janelia Fluor 646 (PA-JF646)Janelia Research CampusPreparation of cells for microscopy
PLOT_ResidenceHist_css.mAnalysis of single-molecule imaging data: Available in Chong et al., 2018
Potassium HydroxideMallinckrodt Chemicals6984-06Preparation of coverslips
pretracking_comb.txtAnalysis of single-molecule imaging data: Available in Chong et al., 2018
SLIMfastAnalysis of single-molecule imaging data: Available in Teves et al., 2016
Stage-top incubation systemTokai HitSingle-molecule imaging: For live-cell imaging
TwinCam dual emission image splitterCairn ResearchSingle-molecule imaging
Ultrasonic CleanerBranson5800Preparation of coverslips

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