Förster resonance energy transfer methods for quantification of protein-protein interactions on microarrays

Optical approaches for single-cell and subcellular analysis of GPCR-G protein signaling

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), G proteins, and their signaling associates are major signal transducers that control the majority of cellular signaling and regulate key biological functions including immune, neurological, cardiovascular, and metabolic processes. These pathways are targeted by over one-third of drugs on the market; however, the current understanding of their function is limited and primarily derived from cell-destructive approaches providing an ensemble of static, multi-cell information about the status and composition of molecules. Spatiotemporal behavior of molecules involved is crucial to understanding in vivo cell behaviors both in health and disease, and the advent of genetically encoded fluorescence proteins and small fluorophore-based biosensors has facilitated the mapping of dynamic signaling in cells with subcellular acuity. Since we and others have developed optogenetic methods to regulate GPCR-G protein signaling in single cells and subcellular regions using dedicated wavelengths, the desire to develop and adopt optogenetically amenable assays to measure signaling has motivated us to take a broader look at the available optical tools and approaches compatible with measuring single-cell and subcellular GPCR-G protein signaling. Here we review such key optical approaches enabling the examination of GPCR, G protein, secondary messenger, and downstream molecules such as kinase and lipid signaling in living cells. The methods reviewed employ both fluorescence and bioluminescence detection. We not only further elaborate the underlying principles of these sensors but also discuss the experimental criteria and limitations to be considered during their use in single-cell and subcellular signal mapping.

Large Scale Proteomic Data and Network-Based Systems Biology Approaches to Explore the Plant World

The investigation of plant organisms by means of data-derived systems biology approaches based on network modeling is mainly characterized by genomic data, while the potential of proteomics is largely unexplored. This delay is mainly caused by the paucity of plant genomic/proteomic sequences and annotations which are fundamental to perform mass-spectrometry (MS) data interpretation. However, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques are contributing to filling this gap and an increasing number of studies are focusing on plant proteome profiling and protein-protein interactions (PPIs) identification. Interesting results were obtained by evaluating the topology of PPI networks in the context of organ-associated biological processes as well as plant-pathogen relationships. These examples foreshadow well the benefits that these approaches may provide to plant research. Thus, in addition to providing an overview of the main-omic technologies recently used on plant organisms, we will focus on studies that rely on concepts of module, hub and shortest path, and how they can contribute to the plant discovery processes. In this scenario, we will also consider gene co-expression networks, and some examples of integration with metabolomic data and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to select candidate genes will be mentioned.

Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) Analysis: Advances and Recent Applications for Genome-Wide Interaction Studies

Complex protein networks are involved in nearly all cellular processes. To uncover these vast networks of protein interactions, various high-throughput screening technologies have been developed. Over the last decade, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assay has been widely used to detect protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in living cells. This technique is based on the reconstitution of a fluorescent protein in vivo. Easy quantification of the BiFC signals allows effective cell-based high-throughput screenings for protein binding partners and drugs that modulate PPIs. Recently, with the development of large screening libraries, BiFC has been effectively applied for genome-wide PPI studies and has uncovered novel protein interactions, providing new insight into protein functions. In this review, we describe the development of reagents and methods used for BiFC-based screens in yeast, plants, and mammalian cells. We also discuss the advantages and drawbacks of these methods and highlight the application of BiFC in large-scale studies.

Exploiting fluorescence for multiplex immunoassays on protein microarrays

Protein microarray technology is becoming the method of choice for identifying protein interaction partners, detecting specific proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, or for characterizing protein interactions and serum antibodies in a massively parallel manner. Availability of the well-established instrumentation of DNA arrays and development of new fluorescent detection instruments promoted the spread of this technique. Fluorescent detection has the advantage of high sensitivity, specificity, simplicity and wide dynamic range required by most measurements. Fluorescence through specifically designed probes and an increasing variety of detection modes offers an excellent tool for such microarray platforms. Measuring for example the level of antibodies, their isotypes and/or antigen specificity simultaneously can offer more complex and comprehensive information about the investigated biological phenomenon, especially if we take into consideration that hundreds of samples can be measured in a single assay. Not only body fluids, but also cell lysates, extracted cellular components, and intact living cells can be analyzed on protein arrays for monitoring functional responses to printed samples on the surface. As a rapidly evolving area, protein microarray technology offers a great bulk of information and new depth of knowledge. These are the features that endow protein arrays with wide applicability and robust sample analyzing capability. On the whole, protein arrays are emerging new tools not just in proteomics, but glycomics, lipidomics, and are also important for immunological research. In this review we attempt to summarize the technical aspects of planar fluorescent microarray technology along with the description of its main immunological applications.

Fluorescent environment-sensitive dyes as reporters of biomolecular interactions

Monitoring biomolecular interactions is a fundamental issue in biosensing, with numerous applications ranging from biological research to clinical diagnostics. Fluorescent dyes capable of changing their color and brightness in response to changes of their environment properties, the so-called environment-sensitive dyes, have recently emerged as reporters of these interactions. The most well established of these are dyes that undergo excited-state charge transfer showing red shift of their single emission band with increase in the solvent polarity. The other promising class are dyes of the 3-hydroxychromone family that undergo excited-state intramolecular proton transfer and show solvent-sensitive dual emission. Examples of existing solvatochromic dyes and their biosensing applications are given, with particular focus on the 3-hydroxychromones. It is shown that solvatochromic dyes are powerful tools for monitoring conformation changes of proteins and their interactions with nucleic acids, proteins, and lipid membranes.

Elucidating protein inter- and intramolecular interacting domains using chemical cross-linking and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight/time of flight mass spectrometry

Among many methods used to investigate protein/protein interactions, chemical cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry remains a vital experimental approach. Mapping peptides modified by cross-linker provides clues about proteins' interacting domains. One complication is that such modification may result from intra- but not intermolecular interactions. Therefore, for overall data interpretation, a combination of results from various platforms is necessary. It is postulated that the secretory isoform of gelsolin regulates several biological processes through interactions with proteins such as actin, fibronectin, vitamin D-binding protein, and unidentified receptors on the surface of eukaryotes; it also has been shown to self-assemble eventually leading to the formation of homo-multimers. As such, it is an excellent model for this study. We used four cross-linkers with arm length ranging from 7.7 to 21.7Å and MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry as the analytical platform. Results of this study show that MALDI-based mass spectrometry generates high quality data to show lysine residues modified by cross-linkers and combined with existing data based on crystallography (Protein Data Bank, PDB) can be used to discriminate between inter- and intramolecular linking.

Quantifying chromatin-associated interactions: the HI-FI system

Chromatin plays a vital role in regulating cellular processes that occur on the DNA. Modulation of chromatin structure is conducted through interactions with binding factors that direct critical actions such as posttranslational modifications, nucleosome remodeling, and incorporation of histone variants. Specific factors recognize and act upon the various physical states of chromatin to modulate DNA accessibility. The ability to quantitatively characterize these interactions in vitro can provide valuable insight into the mechanisms that dictate chromatin architecture. Here, we describe in detail fluorescence methodologies for quantifying the thermodynamic principles that guide interactions between nucleosomal arrays, mononucleosomes, or nucleosome components and chromatin-associated factors through application of the HI-FI (High-throughput Interactions by Fluorescence Intensity) system. These measurements utilize fluorescence (de)quenching and FRET assays performed in 384-well microplates, making the assays suitable for high-throughput characterization of interactions at low concentrations. Further, this system can be used to determine the stoichiometric composition of complexes and specific sites of interaction. After quantification on a plate reader or similar instrument, the solution-based assays can be directly transferred to native gels for visualization of interaction(s). We also highlight procedural details on the efficient attachment of fluorescent dyes to histones and DNA. In all, the HI-FI system of assays can be used to elucidate mechanistic details of how specific chromatin-associated factors function at the molecular level.

Fluorescence strategies for high-throughput quantification of protein interactions

Advances in high-throughput characterization of protein networks in vivo have resulted in large databases of unexplored protein interactions that occur during normal cell function. Their further characterization requires quantitative experimental strategies that are easy to implement in laboratories without specialized equipment. We have overcome many of the previous limitations to thermodynamic quantification of protein interactions, by developing a series of in-solution fluorescence-based strategies. These methods have high sensitivity, a broad dynamic range, and can be performed in a high-throughput manner. In three case studies we demonstrate how fluorescence (de)quenching and fluorescence resonance energy transfer can be used to quantitatively probe various high-affinity protein–DNA and protein–protein interactions. We applied these methods to describe the preference of linker histone H1 for nucleosomes over DNA, the ionic dependence of the DNA repair enzyme PARP1 in DNA binding, and the interaction between the histone chaperone Nap1 and the histone H2A–H2B heterodimer.