In-Cell Detection of Conformational Substates of a G Protein-Coupled Receptor Quaternary Structure: Modulation of Substate Probability by Cognate Ligand Binding

Impact of photobleaching of fluorescent proteins on FRET measurements under two-photon excitation

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a widely used technique for nanoscale molecular distance measurements, which makes FRET ideal for studying protein interactions and quaternary structure of protein complexes. In this work, we were interested in how photobleaching of donor and acceptor molecules affects the FRET results under various excitation conditions. We conducted a systematic study, under two-photon excitation, of the effects of the excitation power and the choice of excitation wavelengths upon the measured FRET efficiencies of multiplex protein constructs, consisting of one donor (D) and two acceptors (A) or one acceptor and a non-fluorescent tag (N), using both the kinetic theory of FRET and numerical simulations under given excitation conditions. We found that under low excitation power and properly chosen excitation wavelengths the relationship between the FRET efficiency of a trimeric construct ADA agrees within 2% with the FRET efficiency computed (via the kinetic theory of FRET in the absence of photobleaching) from two dimeric constructs ADN and NDA. By contrast, at higher excitation powers the FRET efficiencies changed significantly due to the photobleaching of both the donor (through direct excitation) and the acceptor (mostly through FRET-induced excitation). Based on these results and numerical simulations using a simple but competent algorithm, we developed guidelines for choosing appropriate experimental conditions for reliable FRET measurements, as well as for interpreting the results of existing experiments using different excitation schemes.

Implementation of FRET Spectrometry Using Temporally Resolved Fluorescence: A Feasibility Study

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) spectrometry is a method for determining the quaternary structure of protein oligomers from distributions of FRET efficiencies that are drawn from pixels of fluorescence images of cells expressing the proteins of interest. FRET spectrometry protocols currently rely on obtaining spectrally resolved fluorescence data from intensity-based experiments. Another imaging method, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), is a widely used alternative to compute FRET efficiencies for each pixel in an image from the reduction of the fluorescence lifetime of the donors caused by FRET. In FLIM studies of oligomers with different proportions of donors and acceptors, the donor lifetimes may be obtained by fitting the temporally resolved fluorescence decay data with a predetermined number of exponential decay curves. However, this requires knowledge of the number and the relative arrangement of the fluorescent proteins in the sample, which is precisely the goal of FRET spectrometry, thus creating a conundrum that has prevented users of FLIM instruments from performing FRET spectrometry. Here, we describe an attempt to implement FRET spectrometry on temporally resolved fluorescence microscopes by using an integration-based method of computing the FRET efficiency from fluorescence decay curves. This method, which we dubbed time-integrated FRET (or tiFRET), was tested on oligomeric fluorescent protein constructs expressed in the cytoplasm of living cells. The present results show that tiFRET is a promising way of implementing FRET spectrometry and suggest potential instrument adjustments for increasing accuracy and resolution in this kind of study.

Fluorescence-Based Detection of Proteins and Their Interactions in Live Cells

Recent advances in fluorescence-based microscopy techniques, such as single molecule fluorescence, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), fluorescence intensity fluctuations analysis, and super-resolution microscopy have expanded our ability to study proteins in greater detail within their native cellular environment and to investigate the roles that protein interactions play in biological functions, such as inter- and intracellular signaling and cargo transport. In this Perspective, we provide an up-to-date overview of the current state of the art in fluorescence-based detection of proteins and their interactions in living cells with an emphasis on recent developments that have facilitated the characterization of the spatial and temporal organization of proteins into oligomeric complexes in the presence and absence of natural and artificial ligands. Further advancements in this field will only deepen our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of biological processes and help develop new therapeutic targets.

Potentials induced by applied electrical fields in and around particles comprised of four dielectric layers

Knowledge of the electrical potentials within different compartments of a biological cell induced by applied alternating fields is needed for assessing the effects of electromagnetic radiation on cells, understanding electroporation and other electric field-induced effects, and deriving expressions for the complex permittivity of suspensions of cells. In the work presented in this paper, closed-form analytical expressions have been derived for the electrical potentials within different layers of an inhomogeneous particle consisting of four different dielectric layers and suspended in a homogeneous medium. Those expressions have been used to derive, for the case of a realistic model of a cell containing a large concentric organelle, expressions for the transmembrane potentials (at cell and organelle level) and electric fields within the cell compartments induced by applied fields. The results of the present theoretical model indicate points of departure between the present and previous theoretical models. The present theory also confirms the validity of the equivalence approach introduced by Irimajiri and co-workers for computing the complex permittivity for suspensions of multi-shelled particles. In addition, it shows that the electric field is amplified at the level of the cell and organelle membranes, but not within other cell compartments.

Fluorescence Intensity Fluctuation Analysis of Protein Oligomerization in Cell Membranes

Fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy (FFS) encompasses a bevy of techniques that involve analyzing fluorescence intensity fluctuations occurring due to fluorescently labeled molecules diffusing in and out of a microscope's focal region. Statistical analysis of these fluctuations may reveal the oligomerization (i.e., association) state of said molecules. We have recently developed a new FFS-based method, termed Two-Dimensional Fluorescence Intensity Fluctuation (2D FIF) spectrometry, which provides quantitative information on the size and stability of protein oligomers as a function of receptor concentration. This article describes protocols for employing FIF spectrometry to quantify the oligomerization of a membrane protein of interest, with specific instructions regarding cell preparation, image acquisition, and analysis of images given in detail. Application of the FIF Spectrometry Suite, a software package designed for applying FIF analysis on fluorescence images, is emphasized in the protocol. Also discussed in detail is the identification, removal, and/or analysis of inhomogeneous regions of the membrane that appear as bright spots. The 2D FIF approach is particularly suited to assess the effects of agonists and antagonists on the oligomeric size of membrane receptors of interest. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Preparation of live cells expressing protein constructs Basic Protocol 2: Image acquisition and noise correction Basic Protocol 3: Drawing and segmenting regions of interest Basic Protocol 4: Calculating the molecular brightness and concentration of individual image segments Basic Protocol 5: Combining data subsets using a manual procedure (Optional) Alternate Protocol 1: Combining data subsets using the advanced FIF spectrometry suite (Optional; alternative to Basic Protocol 5) Basic Protocol 6: Performing meta-analysis of brightness spectrograms Alternate Protocol 2: Performing meta-analysis of brightness spectrograms (alternative to Basic Protocol 6) Basic Protocol 7: Spot extraction and analysis using a manual procedure or by writing a program (Optional) Alternate Protocol 3: Automated spot extraction and analysis (Optional; alternative to Protocol 7) Support Protocol: Monomeric brightness determination.

Comparative photophysical properties of some widely used fluorescent proteins under two-photon excitation conditions

Understanding the photophysical properties of fluorescent proteins (FPs), such as emission and absorption spectra, molecular brightness, photostability, and photo-switching, is critical to the development of criteria for their selection as tags for fluorescent-based biological applications. While two-photon excitation imaging techniques have steadily gained popularity - due to comparatively deeper penetration depth, reduced out-of-focus photobleaching, and wide separation between emission spectra and two-photon excitation spectra -, most studies reporting on the photophysical properties of FPs tend to remain focused on single-photon excitation. Here, we report our investigation of the photophysical properties of several commonly used fluorescent proteins using two-photon microscopy with spectral resolution in both excitation and emission. Our measurements indicate that not only the excitation (and sometimes emission) spectra of FPs may be markedly different between single-photon and two-photon excitation, but also their relative brightness and their photo-stability. A good understanding of the photophysical properties of FPs under two-photon excitation is essential for choosing the right tag(s) for a desired experiment.

Modulation of adenosine A2a receptor oligomerization by receptor activation and PIP2 interactions

GPCRs have been shown to form oligomers, which generate distinctive signaling outcomes. However, the structural nature of the oligomerization process remains uncertain. We have characterized oligomeric configurations of the adenosine A2a receptor (A2aR) by combining large-scale molecular dynamics simulations with Markov state models. These oligomeric structures may also serve as templates for studying oligomerization of other class A GPCRs. Our simulation data revealed that receptor activation results in enhanced oligomerization, more diverse oligomer populations, and a more connected oligomerization network. The active state conformation of the A2aR shifts protein-protein association interfaces to those involving intracellular loop ICL3 and transmembrane helix TM6. Binding of PIP₂ to A2aR stabilizes protein-protein interactions via PIP₂-mediated association interfaces. These results indicate that A2aR oligomerization is responsive to the local membrane lipid environment. This, in turn, suggests a modulatory effect on A2aR whereby a given oligomerization profile favors the dynamic formation of specific supramolecular signaling complexes.

Ste2p Under the Microscope: the Investigation of Oligomeric States of a Yeast G Protein-Coupled Receptor

Oligomerization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) may play important roles in maturation, internalization, signaling, and pharmacology of these receptors. However, the nature and extent of their oligomerization is still under debate. In our study, Ste2p, a yeast mating pheromone GPCR, was tagged with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), mCherry, and with split florescent protein fragments at the receptor C-terminus. The Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique was used to detect receptors' oligomerization by calculating the energy transfer from EGFP to mCherry. Stimulation of Ste2p oligomers with the receptor ligand did not result in any significant change on observed FRET values. The bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assay was combined with FRET to further investigate the tetrameric complexes of Ste2p. Our results suggest that in its quiescent (nonligand-activated) state, Ste2p is found at least as a tetrameric complex on the plasma membrane. Intriguingly, receptor tetramers in their active form showed a significant increase in FRET. This study provides a direct in vivo visualization of Ste2p tetramers and the pheromone effect on the extent of the receptor oligomerization.

Fluorescence intensity fluctuation analysis of receptor oligomerization in membrane domains

Fluorescence micrographs of the plasma membrane of cells expressing fluorescently labeled G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) often exhibit small clusters of pixels (or puncta) with intensities that are higher than those of the surrounding pixels. Although studies of GPCR interactions in uniform membrane areas abound, understanding the details of the GPCR interactions within such puncta as well as the nature of the membrane formations underlying the puncta is hampered by the lack of adequate experimental techniques. Here, we introduce an enhancement of a recently developed method termed fluorescence intensity fluctuation spectrometry, which permits analysis of protein-protein interactions within the puncta in live cell membranes. We applied the novel fluorescence intensity fluctuation data analysis protocol to previously published data from cells expressing human secretin receptors and determined that the oligomer size increases with receptor concentration and duration of treatment with cognate ligand, not only within uniform regions of the membrane (in agreement with previous publications) but also within the puncta. In addition, we found that the number density and fractional area of the puncta increased after treatment with ligand. This method could be applied for probing the evolution in the time of the chain of events that begins with ligand binding and continues with coated pits formation and receptor internalization for other GPCRs and, indeed, other membrane receptors in living cells.

Dielectric Spectroscopy Based Detection of Specific and Nonspecific Cellular Mechanisms

Using radiofrequency dielectric spectroscopy, we have investigated the impact of the interaction between a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), the sterile2 α-factor receptor protein (Ste2), and its cognate agonist ligand, the α-factor pheromone, on the dielectric properties of the plasma membrane in living yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The dielectric properties of a cell suspension containing a saturating concentration of α-factor were measured over the frequency range 40Hz–110 MHz and compared to the behavior of a similarly prepared suspension of cells in the absence of α-factor. A spherical three-shell model was used to determine the electrical phase parameters for the yeast cells in both types of suspensions. The relative permittivity of the plasma membrane showed a significant increase after exposure to α-factor (by 0.06 ± 0.05). The equivalent experiment performed on yeast cells lacking the ability to express Ste2 showed no change in plasma membrane permittivity. Interestingly, a large change also occurred to the electrical properties of the cellular interior after the addition of α-factor to the cell suspending medium, whether or not the cells were expressing Ste2. We present a number of different complementary experiments performed on the yeast to support these dielectric data and interpret the results in terms of specific cellular reactions to the presence of α-factor.