LED Thermo Flow — Combining Optogenetics with Flow Cytometry

Summary

Optically controlled substances are powerful tools to study signaling pathways. To expand the spectrum of possible experiments, we developed a device for studying optically controlled substances in real time using flow cytometry: the LED Thermo Flow.

Abstract

Optogenetic tools allow isolated, functional investigations of almost any signaling molecule within complex signaling pathways. A major obstacle is the controlled delivery of light to the cell sample and hence the most popular tools for optogenetic studies are microscopy-based cell analyses and in vitro experiments. The flow cytometer has major advantages over a microscope, including the ability to rapidly measure thousands of cells at single cell resolution. However, it is not yet widely used in optogenetics. Here, we present a device that combines the power of optogenetics and flow cytometry: the LED Thermo Flow. This device illuminates cells at specific wavelengths, light intensities and temperatures during flow cytometric measurements. It can be built at low cost and be used with most common flow cytometers. To demonstrate its utility, we characterized the photoswitching kinetics of Dronpa proteins in vivo and in real time. This protocol can be adapted to almost all optically controlled substances and substantially expands the set of possible experiments. More importantly, it will greatly simplify the discovery and development of new optogenetic tools.

Introduction

Optogenetic tools have been gaining popularity, in part because they can be used to decipher the wiring of signaling pathways^1-4. They are based on the ability of photoactivatable proteins to change their conformation and binding affinity when illuminated with light. Fusing these proteins to signaling elements allows for the specific regulation of a single player within complex intracellular signaling pathways^5-12. Consequently, a signaling pathway can be studied with high temporal and spatial resolution.

Most cell-based optogenetic studies utilize microscopy-based methods combined with culturing in the presence of lig....

Protocol

1. Designing and Building the Device

1. Pilot Experiments
   NOTE: The required light intensity for a specific optogenetic tool and cell type may vary significantly. Pilot experiments with prototypes are useful to estimate the minimal light intensity necessary. The optogenetic tool used for the following experiments is a Dronpa-Linker-Dronpa fusion construct. The Dronpa sequence was commercially obtained (See List of Materials). A long linker was cloned in between two Dronpa sequences to allow the expressed construct to form intramolecular (and intermolecular) dimers. The steps described below can be adapted to many other optogenetic tool....

Results

Using the LED Thermo Flow with a Flow Cytometer

The functional core of the device is a cylindrical chamber in which LED lights are arranged in a circular manner pointing inward. This chamber can be connected to a water supply and pump, which allows for controlling the temperature of the LEDs, as well as the cell sample. The LEDs are connected to a transformer and hence the light intensity for each wavelength can be individually co.......

Discussion

The LED Thermo Flow is an innovative device to study optogenetic tools in a flow cytometer.

So far, optogenetic samples have been illuminated only with microscopy lasers or flashlight devices^11,12. Depending on the angle and distance of the flashlight to the sample, substantial variability in the amount of illumination is expected between experiments. Furthermore, there is a limit to the number of flashlights a single person can operate in an experiment. This restricts the experimen.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Glass FACS tube	Thermo Fisher Scientific; Waltham, USA	14-961-26	Borosilicate glass tubes 12x75 mm
Flow Cytometer	BD Bioscienceg; Heidelberg, Germany	Fortessa II	Special Order
Dronpa: pcDNA3-mNeptune2-N	Addgene; Cambridge, USA	41645
PolyJet	SignaGen, Rockville, USA	SL100688
LED 505 nm	Avago Technologies; Boeblingen, Germany	HLMP-CE34-Y1CDD
LED 400 nm	Avago Technologies; Boeblingen, Germany	UV5TZ-400-15
Plexiglas tube 15 mm	Maertin; Freiburg, Germany	76999
Plexiglas 3 mm	Maertin; Freiburg, Germany	692230
Plexiglas 2.5 mm	Maertin; Freiburg, Germany	692225
Plexiglas 1.5 mm	Maertin; Freiburg, Germany	692215
PVC tile 5 mm	Maertin; Freiburg, Germany	690020.005
PVC tile 6 mm	Maertin; Freiburg, Germany	690020.006
PVC block 50 mm	Maertin; Freiburg, Germany	690020.050
RPMI	Invitrogen, Life Technologies; Darmstadt, Germany	61870-010
2-Mercaptoethanol	EMD; Germany	805740
FCS	PAN Biotech; Aidenbach, Germany	P30-3302
Penicillin/Strptomycin (10,000 U/mL)	Invitrogen, Life Technologies; Darmstadt, Germany	15140-122
Acrifix plexiglas glue	Evonic industries, Essen, Germany	1R0192
Tangit PVC-U glue	Henkel, Düsseldorf, Germany