Dynamic Cellular Cartography: Mapping the Local Determinants of Oligodendrocyte Transcription Factor 2 (OLIG2) Function in Live Cells Using Massively Parallel Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy Integrated with Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (mpFCS/FLIM).
Anal Chem 2021;
93:12011-12021. [PMID:
34428029 PMCID:
PMC8427561 DOI:
10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02144]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
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Compartmentalization
and integration of molecular
processes through diffusion are basic mechanisms through which cells
perform biological functions. To characterize these mechanisms in
live cells, quantitative and ultrasensitive analytical methods with
high spatial and temporal resolution are needed. Here, we present
quantitative scanning-free confocal microscopy with single-molecule
sensitivity, high temporal resolution (∼10 μs/frame),
and fluorescence lifetime imaging capacity, developed by integrating
massively parallel fluorescence correlation spectroscopy with fluorescence
lifetime imaging microscopy (mpFCS/FLIM); we validate the method,
use it to map in live cell location-specific variations in the concentration,
diffusion, homodimerization, DNA binding, and local environment of
the oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 fused with the enhanced
Green Fluorescent Protein (OLIG2-eGFP), and characterize the effects
of an allosteric inhibitor of OLIG2 dimerization on these determinants
of OLIG2 function. In particular, we show that cytoplasmic OLIG2-eGFP
is largely monomeric and freely diffusing, with the fraction of freely
diffusing OLIG2-eGFP molecules being fD,freecyt = (0.75
± 0.10) and the diffusion time τD,freecyt = (0.5 ± 0.3) ms. In contrast,
OLIG2-eGFP homodimers are abundant in the cell nucleus, constituting
∼25% of the nuclear pool, some fD,boundnuc = (0.65
± 0.10) of nuclear OLIG2-eGFP is bound to chromatin DNA, whereas
freely moving OLIG2-eGFP molecules diffuse at the same rate as those
in the cytoplasm, as evident from the lateral diffusion times τD,freenuc = τD,freecyt = (0.5
± 0.3) ms. OLIG2-eGFP interactions with chromatin DNA, revealed
through their influence on the apparent diffusion behavior of OLIG2-eGFP,
τD,boundnuc (850 ± 500) ms, are characterized by an apparent dissociation
constant Kd,appOLIG2-DNA = (45 ± 30) nM. The apparent
dissociation constant of OLIG2-eGFP homodimers was estimated to be Kd,app(OLIG2-eGFP)2 ≈ 560 nM. The allosteric inhibitor of OLIG2 dimerization,
compound NSC 50467, neither affects OLIG2-eGFP properties in the cytoplasm
nor does it alter the overall cytoplasmic environment. In contrast,
it significantly impedes OLIG2-eGFP homodimerization in the cell nucleus,
increasing five-fold the apparent dissociation constant, Kd,app,NSC50467(OLIG2-eGFP)2 ≈ 3 μM, thus reducing homodimer levels to below 7%
and effectively abolishing OLIG2-eGFP specific binding to chromatin
DNA. The mpFCS/FLIM methodology has a myriad of applications in biomedical
research and pharmaceutical industry. For example, it is indispensable
for understanding how biological functions emerge through the dynamic
integration of location-specific molecular processes and invaluable
for drug development, as it allows us to quantitatively characterize
the interactions of drugs with drug targets in live cells.
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