Determination of the Relative Cell Surface and Total Expression of Recombinant Ion Channels Using Flow Cytometry

Summary

Inherited cardiac arrhythmias are often caused by mutations that alter the surface delivery of one or more ion channels. Here, we adapt flow cytometry assays to provide a quantification of the relative total and cell surface protein expression of recombinant ion channels expressed in tsA-201 cells.

Abstract

Inherited or de novo mutations in cation-selective channels may lead to sudden cardiac death. Alteration in the plasma membrane trafficking of these multi-spanning transmembrane proteins, with or without change in channel gating, is often postulated to contribute significantly in this process. It has thus become critical to develop a method to quantify the change of the relative cell surface expression of cardiac ion channels on a large scale. Herein, a detailed protocol is provided to determine the relative total and cell surface expression of cardiac L-type calcium channels Ca_V1.2 and membrane-associated subunits in tsA-201 cells using two-color fluorescent cytometry assays. Compared with other microscopy-based or immunoblotting-based qualitative methods, flow cytometry experiments are fast, reproducible, and large-volume assays that deliver quantifiable end-points on large samples of live cells (ranging from 10⁴ to 10⁶ cells) with similar cellular characteristics in a single flow. Constructs were designed to constitutively express mCherry at the intracellular C-terminus (thus allowing a rapid assessment of the total protein expression) and express an extracellular-facing hemagglutinin (HA) epitope to estimate the cell surface expression of membrane proteins using an anti-HA fluorescence conjugated antibody. To avoid false negative, experiments were also conducted in permeabilized cells to confirm the accessibility and proper expression of the HA epitope. The detailed procedure provides: (1) design of tagged DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) constructs, (2) lipid-mediated transfection of constructs in tsA-201 cells, (3) culture, harvest, and staining of non-permeabilized and permeabilized cells, and (4) acquisition and analysis of fluorescent signals. Additionally, the basic principles of flow cytometry are explained and the experimental design, including the choice of fluorophores, titration of the HA antibody and control experiments, is thoroughly discussed. This specific approach offers objective relative quantification of the total and cell surface expression of ion channels that can be extended to study ion pumps and plasma membrane transporters.

Introduction

This paper provides a reliable assay to report the relative cell surface expression of membrane proteins such as ion channels expressed in recombinant cells using the existing flow cytometry technology. Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that are responsible for controlling electrical signals by gating the flow of ions across the cell membrane. They are classified by the activation mechanism, nature, and selectivity of ion species transiting through the pore where they are localized. At the cellular and tissue levels, the macroscopic ion fluxes through ion channels are the product of biophysical (gating and permeation), biochemical (phosphorylation), and ....

Protocol

1. Doubly Tagged DNA constructs

1. Insert the HA epitope (YPYDVPDYA) in the extracellular linker of Ca_Vα2δ1 between D676 and R677 by site directed mutagenesis (Figure 3B)²⁰. Use Forward primer gccggattatgcgGGAAAACTCCAAACAACC and Reverse primer acatcatacggataTCAATAAATTCATTGAAATTTAAAAGAAATTC.
2. Subclone the cDNA sequence of the tagged HA Ca_Vα2δ1 into the mammalian pmCherry-N1 expression vector designed to express the protein fused to the N-terminus of mCherry between the SacI and SalI sites (Figure 3B)²⁰.
   NOTE: Appropriate channel function needs to be tested with the cont....

Results

This article describes a reliable protocol to quantify total and cell surface of recombinant ion channels expressed in tsA-201cells by a two-color flow cytometry assay. As an example, the relative cell surface and total protein expression was quantified for the Ca_Vα2δ1subunit. In order to perform the two-color flow cytometry assay, Ca_Vα2δ1 was doubly tagged to express an extracellular non-fluorescent epitope HA that can be detected by an anti-HA FITC-conjugated antib.......

Discussion

This flow cytometry-based assay was successfully applied to the measurement of relative total and cell surface levels of fluorescently-labelled pore-forming and associated subunits of voltage-gated calcium channels^14,22,26. It is best used when investigating the impact of genetic mutations and thus requires that the intrinsic fluorescence intensity of the fluorescently-labelled tagged wild-type construct be at least 10 to 100-fold larger than for the fluorescence intensity of the fluorescently-labelled untagge.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Q5 Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit	New England Biolabs	E0554S	Can be substitute with QuickChange site-directed mutagenesis Kit (Agilent, #200523).
Tubes 1.5 ml	Sarstedt	72-690-001
Tubes 15 ml	Sarstedt	62-554-002
Disposable graduated Tranfer Pipets	VWR	160001-192
100 mm culture dish	Corning	430167	For standard culture of HEKT cells.
35 mm culture dish	Falcon	353001	For standard culture of HEKT cells.
Serological pipette 1 ml	Sarstedt	86.1251.001
Serological pipette 5 ml	Sarstedt	86.1253.001
Serological pipette 10 ml	Sarstedt	86.1254.001
Serological pipette 25 ml	Sarstedt	86.1285.001
Dulbecco's high-glucose medium	Life Technologies	12100-046	Warm in 37 °C water bath before use.
Fetal Bovine Serum, qualified, heat inactivated, US origin	Life Technologies	16140-071
Penicillin-Streptomycin (10,000 U/ml)	Life Technologies	15140-122
Lipofectamine 2000	Life Technologies	11668-019	For liposomal transfection. Can be substituted with calcium phosphate transfection.
Opti-MEM I Reduced Serum Medium	Life Technologies	31985-070	Warm in 37 °C water bath before use.
Trypsin-EDTA (1x) 0.05%, phenol red	Life Technologies	25300-062
1.5 ml microtubes	Sarstedt	72.690.001
Phosphate Buffered Saline 1x	Fisher	BP661-10	Can be "home-made".
Anti-HA FITC conjugated antibody	Sigma	H7411
IgG1−FITC Isotype Control antibody	Sigma	F6397
BD Cytofix/Cytoperm Fixation/Permeabilization Solution Kit	BD Biosciences	554714	Fixation/Permeabilization. Permeabilization/Wash solution, store at 4 °C.
Hemacytometer	Fisher	49105161
Trypan Blue	Fisher	15250061	To access cell viability.
Refrigerated Microcentrifuge, 5430R	Eppendorf	A14H172200
Forma Steri-Cycle CO2 Incubator	Fisher	370
Laboratory Platform Rocker	Fisher	545034
Water Bath	VWR	89032-216
BD FACSARIA III	BD Biosciences	648282	Flow cytometer.
FlowJo Software v10	FlowJo	FlowJo v10 Dongle	For data analysis.