DySCo: quantitating associations of membrane proteins using two-color single-molecule tracking.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Dunne PD
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2726305 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:Live-cell imaging of mRNA yields important insights into gene expression, but it has generally been limited to the labeling of one RNA species and has never been used to count single mRNAs over time in yeast. We demonstrate a two-color imaging system with single-molecule resolution using MS2 and PP7 RNA labeling. We use this methodology to measure intrinsic noise in mRNA levels and RNA polymerase II kinetics at a single gene.
| S-EPMC3899799 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Protein structures are not static but sample different conformations over a range of amplitudes and time scales. These fluctuations may involve relatively small changes in bond angles or quite large rearrangements in secondary structure and tertiary fold. The equilibrium between discrete structural substates on the microsecond to millisecond time scale is sometimes termed conformational exchange. Protein dynamics and conformational exchange are believed to provide the basis for many important activities, such as protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions, enzymatic activity and protein allostery; however, for many proteins, the dynamics and conformational exchange that lead to function are poorly defined. Spectroscopic methods, such as NMR, are among the most important methods to explore protein dynamics and conformational exchange; however, they are difficult to implement in some systems and with some types of exchange events. Site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) is an EPR based approach that is particularly well-suited to high molecular-weight systems such as membrane proteins. Because of the relatively fast time scale for EPR spectroscopy, it is an excellent method to examine exchange. Conformations that are in exchange are captured as distinct populations in the EPR spectrum, and this feature when combined with the use of methods that can shift the free energy of conformational substates allows one to identify regions of proteins that are in dynamic exchange. In addition, modern pulse EPR methods have the ability to examine conformational heterogeneity, resolve discrete protein states, and identify the substates in exchange. Protein crystallography has provided high-resolution models for a number of membrane proteins; but because of conformational exchange, these models do not always reflect the structures that are present when the protein is in a native bilayer environment. In the case of the Escherichia coli vitamin B12 transporter, BtuB, the energy coupling segment of this protein undergoes a substrate-dependent unfolding, which acts to couple this outer-membrane protein to the inner-membrane protein TonB. EPR spectroscopy demonstrates that the energy coupling segment is in equilibrium between ordered and disordered states, and that substrate binding shifts this equilibrium to favor an unfolded state. However, in crystal structures of BtuB, this segment is resolved and folded within the protein, and neither the presence of this equilibrium nor the substrate-induced change is revealed. This is a result of the solute environment and the crystal lattice, both of which act to stabilize one conformational substate of the transporter. Using SDSL, it can be shown that conformational exchange is present in other regions of BtuB and in other members of this transporter family. Conformational exchange has also been examined in systems such as the plasma membrane SNARE protein, syntaxin 1A, where dynamics are controlled by regulatory proteins such as munc18. Regulating the microsecond to millisecond time scale dynamics in the neuronal SNAREs is likely to be a key feature that regulates assembly of the SNAREs and neurotransmitter release.
| S-EPMC4204925 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We report the development and application of photoactivatable Green Cherry (G(PA)C), the first genetically encoded "continuously red-photoactivatable green" two-color probe for live cell imaging. G(PA)C is unique in that it enables real-time tracking of selected subpopulations of proteins and organelles in the cell or of cells within tissues and whole organisms, with constant reference to the entire population of the probe. Using G(PA)C-zyxin as proof of utility, we obtained new insights into the dynamic movement of the cytoskeletal protein zyxin. We show that zyxin is continuously and rapidly recruited from the cytosol into established focal adhesions. It can also move rapidly within a given focal adhesion and "hop" between adjacent focal adhesions, emphasizing the dynamic nature of proteins within these structures. The in vivo utility of G(PA)C is exemplified by tracking hemocyte movements using a versatile transgenic Drosophila model engineered to express G(PA)C in tissues and cells of interest under the control of the GAL4-inducible promoter.
| S-EPMC2857038 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Multicolor single-molecule tracking (SMT) provides a powerful tool to mechanistically probe molecular interactions in living cells. However, because of the limitations in the optical and chemical properties of currently available fluorophores and the multiprotein labeling strategies, intracellular multicolor SMT remains challenging for general research studies. Here, we introduce a practical method employing a nanopore-electroporation (NanoEP) technique to deliver multiple organic dye-labeled proteins into living cells for imaging. It can be easily expanded to three channels in commercial microscopes or be combined with other in situ labeling methods. Utilizing NanoEP, we demonstrate three-color SMT for both cytosolic and membrane proteins. Specifically, we simultaneously monitored single-molecule events downstream of EGFR signaling pathways in living cells. The results provide detailed resolution of the spatial localization and dynamics of Grb2 and SOS recruitment to activated EGFR along with the resultant Ras activation.
| S-EPMC7865127 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Heterogeneity in cell membrane structure, typified by microdomains with different biophysical and biochemical properties, is thought to impact on a variety of cell functions. Integral membrane proteins act as nanometre-sized probes of the lipid environment and their thermally-driven movements can be used to report local variations in membrane properties. In the current study, we have used total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) combined with super-resolution tracking of multiple individual molecules, in order to create high-resolution maps of local membrane viscosity. We used a quadrat sampling method and show how statistical tests for membrane heterogeneity can be conducted by analysing the paths of many molecules that pass through the same unit area of membrane. We describe experiments performed on cultured primary cells, stable cell lines and ex vivo tissue slices using a variety of membrane proteins, under different imaging conditions. In some cell types, we find no evidence for heterogeneity in mobility across the plasma membrane, but in others we find statistically significant differences with some regions of membrane showing significantly higher viscosity than others.
| S-EPMC8704140 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Measuring molecular binding to membrane proteins is critical for understanding cellular functions, validating biomarkers, and screening drugs. Despite the importance, developing such a capability has been a difficult challenge, especially for small-molecule binding to membrane proteins in their native cellular environment. Here we show that the binding of both large and small molecules to membrane proteins can be quantified on single cells by trapping single cells with a microfluidic device and detecting binding-induced cellular membrane deformation on the nanometer scale with label-free optical imaging. We develop a thermodynamic model to describe the binding-induced membrane deformation, validate the model by examining the dependence of membrane deformation on cell stiffness, membrane protein expression level, and binding affinity, and study four major types of membrane proteins, including glycoproteins, ion channels, G-protein coupled receptors, and tyrosine kinase receptors. The single-cell detection capability reveals the importance of local membrane environment on molecular binding and variability in the binding kinetics of different cell lines and heterogeneity of different cells within the same cell line.
| S-EPMC5851003 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Uncovering the structure and function of biomolecules is a fundamental goal in structural biology. Membrane-embedded transport proteins are ubiquitous in all kingdoms of life. Despite structural flexibility, their mechanisms are typically studied by ensemble biochemical methods or by static high-resolution structures, which complicate a detailed understanding of their dynamics. Here, we review the recent progress of single molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET) in determining mechanisms and timescales of substrate transport across membranes. These studies do not only demonstrate the versatility and suitability of state-of-the-art smFRET tools for studying membrane transport proteins but they also highlight the importance of membrane mimicking environments in preserving the function of these proteins. The current achievements advance our understanding of transport mechanisms and have the potential to facilitate future progress in drug design.
| S-EPMC8453700 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We describe theory, experiments, and analyses of three-color Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) spectroscopy for probing sub-millisecond conformational dynamics of protein folding and binding of disordered proteins. We devise a scheme that uses single continuous-wave laser excitation of the donor instead of alternating excitation of the donor and one of the acceptors. This scheme alleviates photophysical problems of acceptors such as rapid photobleaching, which is crucial for high time resolution experiments with elevated illumination intensity. Our method exploits the molecular species with one of the acceptors absent or photobleached, from which two-color FRET data is collected in the same experiment. We show that three FRET efficiencies and kinetic parameters can be determined without alternating excitation from a global maximum likelihood analysis of two-color and three-color photon trajectories. We implement co-parallelization of CPU-GPU processing, which leads to a significant reduction of the likelihood calculation time for efficient parameter determination.
| S-EPMC7335206 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Probing the oligomeric state of abundant molecules, such as membrane proteins in intact cells, is essential, but has not been straightforward. We address this challenge with a simple counting strategy that is capable of reporting the oligomeric state of dense, membrane-bound protein complexes. It is based on single-molecule localization microscopy to super-resolve protein structures in intact cells and basic quantitative evaluation. We validate our method with membrane-bound monomeric CD86 and dimeric cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein as model proteins and confirm their oligomeric states. We further detect oligomerization of CD80 and vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein and propose coexistence of monomers and dimers for CD80 and trimeric assembly of the viral protein at the cell membrane. This approach should prove valuable for researchers striving for reliable molecular counting in cells.
| S-EPMC4642553 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The statistical properties of membrane protein random walks reveal information on the interactions between the proteins and their environments. These interactions can be included in an overdamped Langevin equation framework where they are injected in either or both the friction field and the potential field. Using a Bayesian inference scheme, both the friction and potential fields acting on the ?-toxin receptor in its lipid raft have been measured. Two types of events were used to probe these interactions. First, active events, the removal of cholesterol and sphingolipid molecules, were used to measure the time evolution of confining potentials and diffusion fields. Second, passive rare events, de-confinement of the receptors from one raft and transition to an adjacent one, were used to measure hopping energies. Lipid interactions with the ?-toxin receptor are found to be an essential source of confinement. ?-toxin receptor confinement is due to both the friction and potential field induced by cholesterol and sphingolipids. Finally, the statistics of hopping energies reveal sub-structures of potentials in the rafts, characterized by small hopping energies, and the difference of solubilization energy between the inner and outer raft area, characterized by higher hopping energies.
| S-EPMC3536804 | biostudies-literature