Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (BRET)-Based Assay for Measuring Interactions of CRAF with 14-3-3 Proteins in Live Cells

Summary

This protocol describes a BRET-based assay for measuring the interactions of the CRAF kinase with 14-3-3 proteins in live cells. The protocol outlines steps for preparing the cells, reading BRET emissions, and data analysis. An example result with identification of appropriate controls and troubleshooting for assay optimization is also presented.

Abstract

CRAF is a primary effector of RAS GTPases and plays a critical role in the tumorigenesis of several KRAS-driven cancers. In addition, CRAF is a hotspot for germline mutations, which are shown to cause the developmental RASopathy, Noonan syndrome. All RAF kinases contain multiple phosphorylation-dependent binding sites for 14-3-3 regulatory proteins. The differential binding of 14-3-3 to these sites plays essential roles in the formation of active RAF dimers at the plasma membrane under signaling conditions and in maintaining RAF autoinhibition under quiescent conditions. Understanding how these interactions are regulated and how they can be modulated is critical for identifying new therapeutic approaches that target RAF function. Here, I describe a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)-based assay for measuring the interactions of CRAF with 14-3-3 proteins in live cells. Specifically, this assay measures the interactions of CRAF fused to a Nano luciferase donor and 14-3-3 fused to a Halo tag acceptor, where the interaction of RAF and 14-3-3 results in donor-to-acceptor energy transfer and the generation of the BRET signal. The protocol further shows that this signal can be disrupted by mutations shown to prevent 14-3-3 binding to each of its high-affinity RAF docking sites. This protocol describes the procedures for seeding, transfecting, and replating the cells, along with detailed instructions for reading BRET emissions, performing data analysis, and confirming protein expression levels. In addition, example assay results, along with optimization and troubleshooting steps, are provided.

Introduction

RAF kinases (ARAF, BRAF, and CRAF) are the direct effectors of RAS GTPases and the initiating members of the pro-proliferative/pro-survival RAF-MEK-ERK kinase cascade. Recent studies have shown that CRAF expression plays a key role in the tumorigenesis of several KRAS-driven cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma^1,2,3,4,5. Moreover, germline CRAF mutations cause a particularly severe form of the RASopathy, Noonan syndrome^6,

Protocol

NOTE: This assay is performed in 293FT cells. A well characterized and readily transfectable epithelial line derived from human embryonic kidney cells. A single confluent 10 cm culture dish of these cells typically provides enough cells for seeding 20 wells of 6-well tissue culture plates. Steps 1-3 must be performed using sterile technique in a biological safety cabinet.

1. Cell seeding (Day 1)

NOTE: In this step, the cells are detached from the tissue culture dish(s), counted, and seeded in 6-well tissue culture plates for transfection in step 2 (Figure 2).

....

Results

When performed as described in this protocol (Figure 2), the interaction of Nano-CRAF^WT and 14-3-3ζ-Halo should produce corrected BRET ratios of 50-60 mBU (Figure 3A; Supplementary Table 1). CRAF contains two phosphorylation-dependent 14-3-3 docking sites, the N' site and the C' site (Figure 1)⁸. Therefore, appropriate controls for reducing CRAF:14-3-3ζ binding in.......

Discussion

Previous studies have shown that 14-3-3 proteins play critical roles in both the activation and inhibition of RAF kinases. Understanding how these binding events are regulated and the effects of modulating these interactions on RAF signaling and RAF-driven oncogenesis may uncover new therapeutic vulnerabilities that target CRAF function. However, the Raf activation cycle is supported by a plethora of associated proteins, post translational modifications, and changes in subcellular localization⁸, a.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Antibodies
HaloTag® mouse monoclonal antibody	Promega	G9211	Antibody for detecting HaloTag tagged  proteins by immunoblot
NanoLuc® mouse monoclonal antibody	R&D Systems	MAB10026	Antibody for detecting Nano-tagged proteins by immunoblot
CRAF mouse monoclonal antibody (E10)	Santa Crus Biotechnology	sc-7267	Antibody directly detecting CRAF proteins by immunoblot
ECL anti-mouse HRP secondary antibody	Amersham	NA931-1ML	Secondary HRP conjugated mouse antibody (from sheep)
Reagents
X-tremeGENE™ 9	Roche/Sigma	6365809001
NanoBRET™ kit	Promega	N1661	NanoBRET kit containing Halo 618 ligand and NanoGlo (nanoluciferase) substrate
DPBS, without Ca++ and Mg++	Quality Biologicals	114-057-101
Trypsin-EDTA (0.05%), phenol red	Life Technologies	25300120
DMEM cell culture media	Life Technologies	11995073	High glucose, L-glutamine, phenol red, sodium  pyruvate; without HEPES, suppliment media with 10% FBS, 2 mM L-glutamine and 100U penicillin-streptomycin
L-Glutamine (200 mM)	Life Technologies	25030164
Penicillin-Streptomycin (10,000 U/mL)	Life Technologies	15140163
Opti-MEM™ I reduced serum media	Gibco	31985062	For cell transfection
Opti-MEM reduced serum media, no phenol red	Gibco	11058021	For replating cells on Day 3. Supplement with 2 mM L-glutamine and 100U penicillin-streptomycin, along with 10% FBS (where indicated).
Invitrogen Trypan Blue Stain	Thermo Scientific	T10282
NP40 lysis buffer	N/A	N/A	20 mM Tris (pH 8.0), 137mM NaCl, 10% glycerol,  NP40 alternative (Milipore, Cat# 492016). Store at 4 degrees C.. Add the following protease and phosphatase immediately prior to use: 20 µM leupeptin, 0.5 mM sodium orthovanidate, 0.15 U/mL, 1mM PMSF.
5x gel sample buffer	N/A	N/A	240 mM Tris (pH 8.0), 9.5% SDS, 30% glycerol, 500mM DTT, 3mM bromophenol blue. Store at -20 degrees C.
Cell lines
293FT cells (human)	Thermo Scientific	R70007
DNA vectors
pCMV5-Nano-CRAF WT and mutant	N/A	N/A
pCMV5-14-3-3ζ-Halo	N/A	N/A
Equipment
EnVision 2104 Multimode Plate Reader	PerkinElmer 2104	2104-0010	600LP NanoBRET & M460/50 nm NanoBRET emmisions filters,  Luminescence 404 mirror, 6.5 mm measurement height and 0.1 s measurement time
Invitrogen Countess™ II Automated Cell Counter	Thermo Scientific	AMQAX1000
ThermoFisher E1-ClipTip™  Multichannel  Pipettor	Thermo Scientific	4672070
Software
GraphPad Prism (version 10.0.3)	GraphPad	www.graphpad.com
Other
ThermoFisher ClipTip Multichannel pipette tips	Thermo Scientific	94410153
Reagent Reservoir, 25 mL Divided, Sterile	Thomas Scientific	1228K16
Perkin Elmer 384-well CulturPlate™	PerkinElmer	6007680	White, polystyrene, tissue culture treated
Countess Cell Counting Chamber Slides	Thermo Scientific	C10228