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Shah SI, Ong HL, Demuro A, Ullah G. PunctaSpecks: A tool for automated detection, tracking, and analysis of multiple types of fluorescently labeled biomolecules. Cell Calcium 2020; 89:102224. [PMID: 32502904 PMCID: PMC7343294 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceca.2020.102224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in imaging technology and fluorescent probes have made it possible to gain information about the dynamics of subcellular processes at unprecedented spatiotemporal scales. Unfortunately, a lack of automated tools to efficiently process the resulting imaging data encoding fine details of the biological processes remains a major bottleneck in utilizing the full potential of these powerful experimental techniques. Here we present a computational tool, called PunctaSpecks, that can characterize fluorescence signals arising from a wide range of biological molecules under normal and pathological conditions. Among other things, the program can calculate the number, areas, life-times, and amplitudes of fluorescence signals arising from multiple sources, track diffusing fluorescence sources like moving mitochondria, and determine the overlap probability of two processes or organelles imaged using indicator dyes of different colors. We have tested PunctaSpecks on synthetic time-lapse movies containing mobile fluorescence objects of various sizes, mimicking the activity of biomolecules. The robustness of the software is tested by varying the level of noise along with random but known pattern of appearing, disappearing, and movement of these objects. Next, we use PunctaSpecks to characterize protein-protein interaction involved in store-operated Ca2+ entry through the formation and activation of plasma membrane-bound ORAI1 channel and endoplasmic reticulum membrane-bound stromal interaction molecule (STIM), the evolution of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-induced Ca2+ signals from sub-micrometer size local events into global waves in human cortical neurons, and the activity of Alzheimer's disease-associated β amyloid pores in the plasma membrane. The tool can also be used to study other dynamical processes imaged through fluorescence molecules. The open source algorithm allows for extending the program to analyze more than two types of biomolecules visualized using markers of different colors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hwei Ling Ong
- Secretory Physiology Section, NIDCR, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892,USA
| | - Angelo Demuro
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33647, USA.
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Vais H, Wang M, Mallilankaraman K, Payne R, McKennan C, Lock JT, Spruce LA, Fiest C, Chan MYL, Parker I, Seeholzer SH, Foskett JK, Mak DOD. ER-luminal [Ca 2+] regulation of InsP 3 receptor gating mediated by an ER-luminal peripheral Ca 2+-binding protein. eLife 2020; 9:53531. [PMID: 32420875 PMCID: PMC7259957 DOI: 10.7554/elife.53531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Modulating cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) by endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP3R) Ca2+-release channels is a universal signaling pathway that regulates numerous cell-physiological processes. Whereas much is known regarding regulation of InsP3R activity by cytoplasmic ligands and processes, its regulation by ER-luminal Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]ER) is poorly understood and controversial. We discovered that the InsP3R is regulated by a peripheral membrane-associated ER-luminal protein that strongly inhibits the channel in the presence of high, physiological [Ca2+]ER. The widely-expressed Ca2+-binding protein annexin A1 (ANXA1) is present in the nuclear envelope lumen and, through interaction with a luminal region of the channel, can modify high-[Ca2+]ER inhibition of InsP3R activity. Genetic knockdown of ANXA1 expression enhanced global and local elementary InsP3-mediated Ca2+ signaling events. Thus, [Ca2+]ER is a major regulator of InsP3R channel activity and InsP3R-mediated [Ca2+]i signaling in cells by controlling an interaction of the channel with a peripheral membrane-associated Ca2+-binding protein, likely ANXA1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Horia Vais
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Min Wang
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Karthik Mallilankaraman
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Riley Payne
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Chris McKennan
- Department of Statistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, United States
| | - Jeffrey T Lock
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, United States
| | - Lynn A Spruce
- Proteomics Core Facility, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Carly Fiest
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Matthew Yan-Lok Chan
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Ian Parker
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, United States.,Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, United States
| | - Steven H Seeholzer
- Proteomics Core Facility, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, United States
| | - J Kevin Foskett
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Don-On Daniel Mak
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
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Shah SI, Demuro A, Mak DOD, Parker I, Pearson JE, Ullah G. TraceSpecks: A Software for Automated Idealization of Noisy Patch-Clamp and Imaging Data. Biophys J 2019; 115:9-21. [PMID: 29972815 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2018.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Experimental records of single molecules or ion channels from fluorescence microscopy and patch-clamp electrophysiology often include high-frequency noise and baseline fluctuations that are not generated by the system under investigation and have to be removed. Moreover, multiple channels or conductance levels can be present at a time in the data that need to be quantified to accurately understand the behavior of the system. Manual procedures for removing these fluctuations and extracting conducting states or multiple channels are laborious, prone to subjective bias, and likely to hinder the processing of often very large data sets. We introduce a maximal likelihood formalism for separating signal from a noisy and drifting background such as fluorescence traces from imaging of elementary Ca2+ release events called puffs arising from clusters of channels, and patch-clamp recordings of ion channels. Parameters such as the number of open channels or conducting states, noise level, and background signal can all be optimized using the expectation-maximization algorithm. We implement our algorithm following the Baum-Welch approach to expectation-maximization in the portable Java language with a user-friendly graphical interface and test the algorithm on both synthetic and experimental data from the patch-clamp electrophysiology of Ca2+ channels and fluorescence microscopy of a cluster of Ca2+ channels and Ca2+ channels with multiple conductance levels. The resulting software is accurate, fast, and provides detailed information usually not available through manual analysis. Options for visual inspection of the raw and processed data with key parameters are provided, in addition to a range of statistics such as the mean open probabilities, mean open times, mean close times, dwell-time distributions for different number of channels open or conductance levels, amplitude distribution of all opening events, and number of transitions between different number of open channels or conducting levels in asci format with a single click.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Angelo Demuro
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Don-On Daniel Mak
- Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Ian Parker
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - John E Pearson
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
| | - Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
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Shah SI, Smith M, Swaminathan D, Parker I, Ullah G, Demuro A. CellSpecks: A Software for Automated Detection and Analysis of Calcium Channels in Live Cells. Biophys J 2018; 115:2141-2151. [PMID: 30447989 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2018.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Revised: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
To couple the fidelity of patch-clamp recording with a more high-throughput screening capability, we pioneered a, to our knowledge, novel approach to single-channel recording that we named "optical patch clamp." By using highly sensitive fluorescent Ca2+ indicator dyes in conjunction with total internal fluorescence microscopy techniques, we monitor Ca2+ flux through individual Ca2+-permeable channels. This approach provides information about channel gating analogous to patch-clamp recording at a time resolution of ∼2 ms with the additional advantage of being massively parallel, providing simultaneous and independent recording from thousands of channels in the native environment. However, manual analysis of the data generated by this technique presents severe challenges because a video recording can include many thousands of frames. To overcome this bottleneck, we developed an image processing and analysis framework called CellSpecks capable of detecting and fully analyzing the kinetics of ion channels within a video sequence. By using randomly generated synthetic data, we tested the ability of CellSpecks to rapidly and efficiently detect and analyze the activity of thousands of ion channels, including openings for a few milliseconds. Here, we report the use of CellSpecks for the analysis of experimental data acquired by imaging muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and the Alzheimer's disease-associated amyloid β pores with multiconductance levels in the plasma membrane of Xenopus laevis oocytes. We show that CellSpecks can accurately and efficiently generate location maps and create raw and processed fluorescence time traces; histograms of mean open times, mean close times, open probabilities, durations, and maximal amplitudes; and a "channel chip" showing the activity of all channels as a function of time. Although we specifically illustrate the application of CellSpecks for analyzing data from Ca2+ channels, it can be easily customized to analyze other spatially and temporally localized signals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Divya Swaminathan
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior,University of California Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Ian Parker
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior,University of California Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
| | - Angelo Demuro
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior,University of California Irvine, Irvine, California.
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Bouilly D, Hon J, Daly NS, Trocchia S, Vernick S, Yu J, Warren S, Wu Y, Gonzalez RL, Shepard KL, Nuckolls C. Single-Molecule Reaction Chemistry in Patterned Nanowells. NANO LETTERS 2016; 16:4679-85. [PMID: 27270004 PMCID: PMC5176326 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b02149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
A new approach to synthetic chemistry is performed in ultraminiaturized, nanofabricated reaction chambers. Using lithographically defined nanowells, we achieve single-point covalent chemistry on hundreds of individual carbon nanotube transistors, providing robust statistics and unprecedented spatial resolution in adduct position. Each device acts as a sensor to detect, in real-time and through quantized changes in conductance, single-point functionalization of the nanotube as well as consecutive chemical reactions, molecular interactions, and molecular conformational changes occurring on the resulting single-molecule probe. In particular, we use a set of sequential bioconjugation reactions to tether a single-strand of DNA to the device and record its repeated, reversible folding into a G-quadruplex structure. The stable covalent tether allows us to measure the same molecule in different solutions, revealing the characteristic increased stability of the G-quadruplex structure in the presence of potassium ions (K(+)) versus sodium ions (Na(+)). Nanowell-confined reaction chemistry on carbon nanotube devices offers a versatile method to isolate and monitor individual molecules during successive chemical reactions over an extended period of time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Delphine Bouilly
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, New York 10027 United
States
| | - Jason Hon
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, New York 10027 United
States
| | - Nathan S. Daly
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, New York 10027 United
States
| | - Scott Trocchia
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 500 W. 120th Street, New York, New York 10027 United
States
| | - Sefi Vernick
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 500 W. 120th Street, New York, New York 10027 United
States
| | - Jaeeun Yu
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, New York 10027 United
States
| | - Steven Warren
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 500 W. 120th Street, New York, New York 10027 United
States
| | - Ying Wu
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, New York 10027 United
States
| | - Ruben L. Gonzalez
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, New York 10027 United
States
- E-mail:
| | - Kenneth L. Shepard
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 500 W. 120th Street, New York, New York 10027 United
States
- E-mail:
| | - Colin Nuckolls
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, 3000 Broadway, New York, New York 10027 United
States
- E-mail:
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Warren SB, Vernick S, Romano E, Shepard KL. Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Integrated Carbon Nanotube Arrays: Toward Wide-Bandwidth Single-Molecule Sensing Systems. NANO LETTERS 2016; 16:2674-9. [PMID: 26999579 PMCID: PMC5319850 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b00319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
There is strong interest in realizing genomic molecular diagnostic platforms that are label-free, electronic, and single-molecule. One attractive transducer for such efforts is the single-molecule field-effect transistor (smFET), capable of detecting a single electronic charge and realized with a point-functionalized exposed-gate one-dimensional carbon nanotube field-effect device. In this work, smFETs are integrated directly onto a custom complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor chip, which results in an array of up to 6000 devices delivering a measurement bandwidth of 1 MHz. In a first exploitation of these high-bandwidth measurement capabilities, point functionalization through electrochemical oxidation of the devices is observed with microsecond temporal resolution, which reveals complex reaction pathways with resolvable scattering signatures. High-rate random telegraph noise is detected in certain oxidized devices, further illustrating the measurement capabilities of the platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven B. Warren
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Sefi Vernick
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Ethan Romano
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Kenneth L. Shepard
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
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Ullah G, Demuro A, Parker I, Pearson JE. Analyzing and Modeling the Kinetics of Amyloid Beta Pores Associated with Alzheimer's Disease Pathology. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137357. [PMID: 26348728 PMCID: PMC4562663 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2015] [Accepted: 08/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyloid beta (Aβ) oligomers associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) form Ca2+-permeable plasma membrane pores, leading to a disruption of the otherwise well-controlled intracellular calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis. The resultant up-regulation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration has detrimental implications for memory formation and cell survival. The gating kinetics and Ca2+ permeability of Aβ pores are not well understood. We have used computational modeling in conjunction with the ability of optical patch-clamping for massively parallel imaging of Ca2+ flux through thousands of pores in the cell membrane of Xenopus oocytes to elucidate the kinetic properties of Aβ pores. The fluorescence time-series data from individual pores were idealized and used to develop data-driven Markov chain models for the kinetics of the Aβ pore at different stages of its evolution. Our study provides the first demonstration of developing Markov chain models for ion channel gating that are driven by optical-patch clamp data with the advantage of experiments being performed under close to physiological conditions. Towards the end, we demonstrate the up-regulation of gating of various Ca2+ release channels due to Aβ pores and show that the extent and spatial range of such up-regulation increases as Aβ pores with low open probability and Ca2+ permeability transition into those with high open probability and Ca2+ permeability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghanim Ullah
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Angelo Demuro
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, United States of America
| | - Ian Parker
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, United States of America
| | - John E. Pearson
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States of America
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Nelson EM, Li H, Timp G. Direct, concurrent measurements of the forces and currents affecting DNA in a nanopore with comparable topography. ACS NANO 2014; 8:5484-93. [PMID: 24840912 DOI: 10.1021/nn405331t] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
We report direct, concurrent measurements of the forces and currents associated with the translocation of a single-stranded DNA molecule tethered to the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever through synthetic pores with topagraphies comparable to the DNA. These measurements were performed to gauge the signal available for sequencing and the electric force required to impel a single molecule through synthetic nanopores ranging from 1.0 to 3.5 nm in diameter in silicon nitride membranes 6-10 nm thick. The measurements revealed that a molecule can slide relatively frictionlessly through a pore, but regular fluctuations are observed intermittently in the force (and the current) every 0.35-0.72 nm, which are attributed to individual nucleotides translating through the nanopore in a turnstile-like motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward M Nelson
- University of Notre Dame , Stinson-Remick Hall, Notre Dame Avenue, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
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Kurz V, Tanaka T, Timp G. Single cell transfection with single molecule resolution using a synthetic nanopore. NANO LETTERS 2014; 14:604-11. [PMID: 24471806 DOI: 10.1021/nl403789z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
We report the development of a single cell gene delivery system based on electroporation using a synthetic nanopore, that is not only highly specific and very efficient but also transfects with single molecule resolution at low voltage (1 V) with minimal perturbation to the cell. Such a system can be used to control gene expression with unprecedented precision--no other method offers such capabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Volker Kurz
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
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