The development of this protocol was supported by grants from the European Research Council (Advanced Grant TOPAS to M.J.L.) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Grants CA 1014/1-1 to D.C. and SFB487 to M.J.L.). T.S. was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

1. Sample Preparation
<ol>
	<li>Coverslip cleaning 
	NOTE: Work under a fume hood.
	<ol>
		<li>Use clean tweezers to place glass coverslips (24 mm diameter) into a coverslip holder that separates individual coverslips.</li>
		<li>Put the holder with coverslips into a beaker, and add chloroform until the coverslips are covered. Cover the beaker with aluminum foil to reduce evaporation and sonicate in a bath sonicator for 1 hr at RT. Take the coverslip holder out of the beaker and let the coverslips...

<ol>
	<li>Pierce, K. L., Premont, R. T., Lefkowitz, R. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Seven-transmembrane+receptors.">Seven-transmembrane receptors.</a> Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 3, 639-650 (2002).</li><li>Angers, S., Salahpour, A., Bouvier, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dimerization:+an+emerging+concept+for+G+protein-coupled+receptor+ontogeny+and+function.">Dimerization: an emerging concept for G protein-coupled receptor ontogeny and function.</a> Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol. 42, 409-435 (2002).</li><li>Ferr&#233;, 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=Building+a+new+conceptual+framework+for+receptor+heteromers.">Building a new conceptual framework for receptor heteromers.</a> Nat Chem Biol. 5, 131-134 (2009).</li><li>Milligan, G. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=protein-coupled+receptor+hetero-dimerization:+contribution+to+pharmacology+and+function.">protein-coupled receptor hetero-dimerization: contribution to pharmacology and function.</a> Br J Pharmacol. 158, 5-14 (2009).</li><li>Lohse, M. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dimerization+in+GPCR+mobility+and+signaling.">Dimerization in GPCR mobility and signaling.</a> Curr Opin Pharmacol. 10, 53-58 (2010).</li><li>Ulbrich, M. H., Isacoff, E. Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Subunit+counting+in+membrane-bound+proteins.">Subunit counting in membrane-bound proteins.</a> Nat Methods. 4, 319-321 (2007).</li><li>Triller, A., Choquet, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=New+concepts+in+synaptic+biology+derived+from+single-molecule+imaging.">New concepts in synaptic biology derived from single-molecule imaging.</a> Neuron. 59, 359-374 (2008).</li><li>Hern, J. 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=Formation+and+dissociation+of+M1+muscarinic+receptor+dimers+seen+by+total+internal+reflection+fluorescence+imaging+of+single+molecules.">Formation and dissociation of M1 muscarinic receptor dimers seen by total internal reflection fluorescence imaging of single molecules.</a> Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 107, 2693-2698 (2010).</li><li>Kasai, R. 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=Full+characterization+of+GPCR+monomer-dimer+dynamic+equilibrium+by+single+molecule+imaging.">Full characterization of GPCR monomer-dimer dynamic equilibrium by single molecule imaging.</a> J Cell Biol. 192, 463-480 (2011).</li><li>Calebiro, D., 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=Single-molecule+analysis+of+fluorescently+labeled+G-protein-coupled+receptors+reveals+complexes+with+distinct+dynamics+and+organization.">Single-molecule analysis of fluorescently labeled G-protein-coupled receptors reveals complexes with distinct dynamics and organization.</a> Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 110, 743-748 (2013).</li><li>Keppler, 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=A+general+method+for+the+covalent+labeling+of+fusion+proteins+with+small+molecules+in+vivo.">A general method for the covalent labeling of fusion proteins with small molecules in vivo.</a> Nat Biotechnol. 21, 86-89 (2003).</li><li>Gautier, 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=An+engineered+protein+tag+for+multiprotein+labeling+in+living+cells.">An engineered protein tag for multiprotein labeling in living cells.</a> Chem Biol. 15, 128-136 (2008).</li><li>Jaqaman, K., 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=Robust+single-particle+tracking+in+live-cell+time-lapse+sequences.">Robust single-particle tracking in live-cell time-lapse sequences.</a> Nat Methods. 5, 695-702 (2008).</li><li>Saxton, M. J., Jacobson, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Single-particle+tracking:+applications+to+membrane+dynamics.">Single-particle tracking: applications to membrane dynamics.</a> Annu Rev Biophys Biomol Struct. 26, 373-399 (1997).</li></ol>

The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

The described protocol allows analysis of the spatial arrangement, mobility and size of cell-surface receptor complexes at single-molecule level. Compared to the use of fluorescent proteins, labeling with small organic fluorophores, which are brighter and more photostable, has the advantage of permitting extended visualization of single receptor particles. Since extremely low expression levels are achieved (&#60;0.45 receptor particles/&#181;m2), the properties of receptors and other membrane proteins can be a...

Receptors located on the cell surface sense the extracellular environment and respond to a variety of stimuli, such as odorants, ions, small neurotransmitters and large protein hormones. The fluid nature of cellular membranes allows movements of receptors and other membrane proteins. This is essential for the formation of protein complexes and the occurrence of transient protein-protein interactions, such as those used by receptors to assemble into functional units and transduce signals into the cell interior. For instance, G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which constitute the largest family of cell-surface receptors1, have been suggested to form di-/oligomers, which appears to be involved in the fine-tuned regulation of signal transduction and might have important physiological and pharmacological consequences2-5.
Single-molecule microscopy has the great potential of directly visualizing with high spatiotemporal resolution the dynamic behavior of individual receptors located on the surface of living cells, including their association to form dimers and higher order molecular complexes6-10. This offers several advantages compared to standard biochemical and microscopy methods, which usually report the average behavior of thousands or millions of molecules.
Protein labeling with a sufficiently bright and photostable fluorophore is essential for single-molecule microscopy. This protocol takes advantage of the recently introduced SNAP tag11 to covalently attach small and bright organic fluorophores to cell-surface receptors. SNAP is a 20 kD protein tag derived from the human DNA repair enzyme O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase, which can be irreversibly labeled with fluorophore-conjugated benzylguanine (fluorophore-BG) derivatives. CLIP, a further engineered tag derived from SNAP, can be instead labeled with fluorophore-conjugated benzylcytosine derivatives12.
The protocol reported in this manuscript explains how to transfect and label SNAP-tagged11 receptors with small organic fluorophores and use total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy to visualize single receptors or receptor complexes on the surface of living cells10. The reported protocol results in &#62;90% labeling efficiency of an extracellularly SNAP-tagged cell-surface protein10. Further information on how to use single-molecule data to analyze the size and mobility of receptor complexes, as well as to capture transient receptor-receptor interactions, is provided. A schematic workflow of the entire protocol is given in Figure 1. As an example, the transfection of Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells with SNAP-tagged G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) followed by labeling with a fluorophore-BG derivative as well as its application to quantify and monitor receptor di-/oligomerization are described. This protocol can be extended to other cell-surface proteins and fluorescent tags (e.g., CLIP), as well as to other transfection and labeling methods.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="882">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="69">
			<td height="69" style="height:69px;width:259px;">Chloroform</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">AppliChem GmbH</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">A1585</td>
			<td style="width:261px;">CAUTION: toxic and irritating substance as well as a possible carcinogen</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:259px;">NaOH</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">S8045</td>
			<td style="width:261px;">CAUTION: strong base and highly corrosive reagent</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">Absolute ethanol</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">32205</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:259px;">Glass coverslip&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Marienfeld-Superior</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">111640</td>
			<td style="width:261px;">24 mm diameter, 0.13-0.16 mm thickness</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">0.2 mm sterile filter</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Sarstedt</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">83.1826.001</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">CHO cells</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">ATCC, USA</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">ATCC CCL-61</td>
			<td style="width:261px;">Chinese hamster ovary cell line</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">6-well cell culture plare</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Nunc</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">140675</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">DMEM/F-12 medium</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">GIBCO, Life Technologies</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">11039-021</td>
			<td style="width:261px;">Phenol-red free medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">Fetal bovine serum&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Biochrom</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">S 0115</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">Penicillin - streptomycin&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Pan Biotech GmbH</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">P06-07 100</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">Trypsin-EDTA</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Pan Biotech GmbH</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">P10-23100</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">Lipofectamine 2000</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Invitrogen, Life Technologies</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">11668-019</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">Opti-MEM I Reduced Serum Medium</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Invitrogen, Life Technologies</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">31985-047</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;">Fluorophore-conjugated benzylguanine&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">New England BioLabs</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">S9136S</td>
			<td style="width:261px;">SNAP-Surface Alexa Fluor 647. Make a 1 mM stock solution in DMSO. Store at -20&#176;C.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">DMSO</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">AppliChem GmbH</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">A1584</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="67">
			<td height="67" style="height:67px;width:259px;">Imaging buffer:</td>
			<td style="width:248px;"></td>
			<td style="width:115px;"></td>
			<td style="width:261px;">137 mM NaCl, 5.4 mM KCl, 2 mM CaCl2, 1 mM MgCl2, 10 mM HEPES, pH 7.3, sterile-filtered</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">&#160;&#160;&#160; NaCl</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">AppliChem GmbH</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">A1371</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">&#160;&#160;&#160; KCl</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">AppliChem GmbH</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">A3582</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="25">
			<td height="25" style="height:25px;width:259px;">&#160;&#160;&#160; CaCl2</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">AppliChem GmbH</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">A2303</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="25">
			<td height="25" style="height:25px;width:259px;">&#160;&#160;&#160; MgCl2</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">AppliChem GmbH</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">A3618</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">&#160;&#160;&#160; HEPES</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">AppliChem GmbH</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">A3724</td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="25">
			<td height="25" style="height:25px;width:259px;">Imaging chamber</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Molecular Probes, Life Technologies</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">A-7816</td>
			<td style="width:261px;">Attofluor Cell Chamber, for microscopy</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">TIRF-M</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Leica</td>
			<td style="width:115px;"></td>
			<td style="width:261px;">Model: DMI6000B</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">TIRF objective</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Leica</td>
			<td style="width:115px;">11 506 249&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:261px;">HCX PL Apo 100x/1.46 Oil CORR&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">EM-CCD camera&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Roper Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:115px;"></td>
			<td style="width:261px;">Photometrics Cascade 512B</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">Temperature controller</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Pecon</td>
			<td style="width:115px;"></td>
			<td style="width:261px;">Tempcontrol 37-2 digital</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">ImageJ software</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">NIH, USA</td>
			<td style="width:115px;"></td>
			<td style="width:261px;">http://rsbweb.nih.gov/ij</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:259px;">u-track software</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">Laboratory for computational cell biology, Dept. of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, USA</td>
			<td style="width:115px;"></td>
			<td style="width:261px;">http://lccb.hms.harvard.edu/software.html</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:259px;">Matlab software</td>
			<td style="width:248px;">The MathWorks, USA</td>
			<td style="width:115px;"></td>
			<td style="width:261px;"></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

high-resolution spatiotemporal analysis of receptor dynamics by single-molecule fluorescence microscopy

Single-molecule microscopy is emerging as a powerful approach to analyze the behavior of signaling molecules, in particular concerning those aspect (e.g., kinetics, coexistence of different states and populations, transient interactions), which are typically hidden in ensemble measurements, such as those obtained with standard biochemical or microscopy methods. Thus, dynamic events, such as receptor-receptor interactions, can be followed in real time in a living cell with high spatiotemporal resolution. This protocol describes a method based on labeling with small and bright organic fluorophores and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy to directly visualize single receptors on the surface of living cells. This approach allows one to precisely localize receptors, measure the size of receptor complexes, and capture dynamic events such as transient receptor-receptor interactions. The protocol provides a detailed description of how to perform a single-molecule experiment, including sample preparation, image acquisition and image analysis. As an example, the application of this method to analyze two G-protein-coupled receptors, i.e., &#946;2-adrenergic and &#947;-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB) receptor, is reported. The protocol can be adapted to other membrane proteins and different cell models, transfection methods and labeling strategies.

The described protocol can be applied to a variety of different membrane proteins. As an example, representative results obtained with &#946;2-adrenergic and GABAB receptors are reported10. Since fluorescent signals from single molecules are weak, minimization of background fluorescence is the first key step to successful results. Thus, it is important to use extensively cleaned coverslips (Figure 2A) as well as to minimize sample autofluorescence (e.g., by using...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about High-resolution Spatiotemporal Analysis of Receptor Dynamics by Single-molecule Fluorescence Microscopy at JoVE.com

High-resolution Spatiotemporal Analysis of Receptor Dynamics by Single-molecule Fluorescence Microscopy

This protocol describes how to use total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to visualize and track single receptors on the surface of living cells and thereby analyze receptor lateral mobility, size of receptor complexes as well as to visualize transient receptor-receptor interactions. This protocol can be extended to other membrane proteins.

Single-molecule microscopy is emerging as a powerful approach to analyze the behavior of signaling molecules, in particular concerning those aspect (e.g., ...

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11.3K Views.  University of Würzburg, Germany. This protocol describes how to use total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to visualize and track single receptors on the surface of living cells and thereby analyze receptor lateral mobility, size of receptor complexes as well as to visualize transient receptor-receptor interactions. This protocol can be extended to other membrane proteins. 