Lipid Droplet Isolation for Quantitative Mass Spectrometry Analysis

Kathrin Rösch; Marcel Kwiatkowski; Hartmut Schlüter; Eva Herker

doi:10.3791/55585

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Method Article

Lipid Droplet Isolation for Quantitative Mass Spectrometry Analysis

10.2K views

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DOI:

10.3791/55585

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April 17th, 2017

Kathrin Rösch¹ , Marcel Kwiatkowski² , Hartmut Schlüter² , Eva Herker¹

¹Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, ²Core Facility Mass Spectrometric Proteomics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

Summary

Lipid droplets are important organelles for the replication of several pathogens, including the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). We describe a method to isolate lipid droplets for quantitative mass spectrometry of associated proteins; it can be used under a variety of conditions, such as virus infection, environmental stress, or drug treatment.

Abstract

Lipid droplets are vital to the replication of a variety of different pathogens, most prominently the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), as the putative site of virion morphogenesis. Quantitative lipid droplet proteome analysis can be used to identify proteins that localize to or are displaced from lipid droplets under conditions such as virus infections. Here, we describe a protocol that has been successfully used to characterize the changes in the lipid droplet proteome following infection with HCV. We use Stable Isotope Labeling with Amino Acids in Cell Culture (SILAC) and thus label the complete proteome of one population of cells with "heavy" amino acids to quantitate the proteins by mass spectrometry. For lipid droplet isolation, the two cell populations (i.e. HCV-infected/"light" amino acids and uninfected control/"heavy" amino acids) are mixed 1:1 and lysed mechanically in hypotonic buffer. After removing the nuclei and cell debris by low speed centrifugation, lipid droplet-associated proteins are enriched by two subsequent ultracentrifugation steps followed by three washing steps in isotonic buffer. The purity of the lipid droplet fractions is analyzed by western blotting with antibodies recognizing different subcellular compartments. Lipid droplet-associated proteins are then separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) followed by Coomassie staining. After tryptic digest, the peptides are quantified by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Using this method, we identified proteins recruited to lipid droplets upon HCV infection that might represent pro- or antiviral host factors. Our method can be applied to a variety of different cells and culture conditions, such as infection with pathogens, environmental stress, or drug treatment.

Introduction

Lipid droplets are highly dynamic cytoplasmic (and nuclear) cell organelles composed of a core of neutral lipids (triglycerides (TG) and cholesterol ester (CE)) enclosed by a monolayer of phospholipids with embedded proteins¹. All cell types produce lipid droplets, but they vary in size, lipid composition, and protein decoration. Lipid droplets fulfill diverse functions, including serving as energy and membrane precursor reservoirs or as protein deposits. In addition, through the uptake of lipids, they protect cells from lipotoxicity, release lipids as signaling molecules, and are involved in protein degradation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) s....