High-throughput Measurement of Plasma Membrane Resealing Efficiency in Mammalian Cells

Summary

Here we describe a high-throughput fluorescence-based assay that measures the plasma membrane resealing efficiency through fluorometric and imaging analyses in living cells. This assay can be used for screening drugs or target genes that regulate plasma membrane resealing in mammalian cells.

Abstract

In their physiological environment, mammalian cells are often subjected to mechanical and biochemical stresses that result in plasma membrane damage. In response to these damages, complex molecular machineries rapidly reseal the plasma membrane to restore its barrier function and maintain cell survival. Despite 60 years of research in this field, we still lack a thorough understanding of the cell resealing machinery. With the goal of identifying cellular components that control plasma membrane resealing or drugs that can improve resealing, we have developed a fluorescence-based high-throughput assay that measures the plasma membrane resealing efficiency in mammalian cells cultured in microplates. As a model system for plasma membrane damage, cells are exposed to the bacterial pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O (LLO), which forms large 30-50 nm diameter proteinaceous pores in cholesterol-containing membranes. The use of a temperature-controlled multi-mode microplate reader allows for rapid and sensitive spectrofluorometric measurements in combination with brightfield and fluorescence microscopy imaging of living cells. Kinetic analysis of the fluorescence intensity emitted by a membrane impermeant nucleic acid-binding fluorochrome reflects the extent of membrane wounding and resealing at the cell population level, allowing for the calculation of the cell resealing efficiency. Fluorescence microscopy imaging allows for the enumeration of cells, which constitutively express a fluorescent chimera of the nuclear protein histone 2B, in each well of the microplate to account for potential variations in their number and allows for eventual identification of distinct cell populations. This high-throughput assay is a powerful tool expected to expand our understanding of membrane repair mechanisms via screening for host genes or exogenously added compounds that control plasma membrane resealing.

Introduction

Mammalian cells are subject to mechanical, osmotic, and biochemical stress, resulting in the loss of plasma membrane integrity. Without rapid and efficient resealing, damaged cells would quickly succumb to programmed or necrotic death. Since the 1960s, efforts to understand the plasma membrane resealing process have been motivated by the devastating consequences associated with its dysfunctions. Indeed, diseases such as Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, diabetes, and Chediak-Higashi Syndrome have been linked to deficient plasma membrane repair due to mutations in the gene encoding dysferlin, production of advanced glycation end products, and defects in the lysosomal tra....

Protocol

1. Preparation

1. Cell Plating
   Note: Human cervical epithelial cells, HeLa and HeLa expressing Histone 2B-GFP (H2B-GFP), were used in this protocol, but this assay can be adapted to other mammalian cells¹⁹.
   1. Detach adherent cells from a 75 cm² cell culture flask by washing the cells with 2 mL of Trypsin-EDTA 0.25%. Replace the used trypsin with 2 mL of fresh trypsin-EDTA 0.25%.
   2. Incubate the cells at 37 ˚C for 5 min until the cells have rounded and detached from the flask.
   3. Resuspend the cells in 8 mL of growth medium (DMEM containing 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum, 100 U/mL penic....

Results

Cell counting accuracy: HeLa cells are frequently used as a model mammalian cell line to explore membrane repair mechanisms. When assessing membrane repair at the cell population level, it is important to plate cells at the same concentration in all wells for proper data interpretation. It is also important to verify at the time of the assay that cell numbers are equivalent across wells. HeLa cells that constitutively express histone 2B fused to GFP (H2B-GFP) were introduced in this assay.......

Discussion

This assay measures the efficiency of membrane resealing at the cell population level with high-throughput capacity. It can be used to screen for cellular components or drug libraries that could affect membrane repair. The described assay used a 96-well plate format, but it can be adapted to 384-well plates for higher throughput. An advantage of this assay is its ability to obtain fluorescence measurements of adherent living cells in real time without the need for excessive cell processing such as cell detachment, fixati.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
SpectraMax i3x Multi-Mode Microplate Reader	Molecular Devices	i3x
MiniMax 300 Imaging cytometer	Molecular Devices	5024062
TO-PRO-3	ThermoFisher Scientific	T3605
Propidium Iodide	ThermoFisher Scientific	P3566
HeLa	ATCC	CCL2
HeLa H2B-GFP	Millipore	SCC117
Trypsin-EDTA 0.25%	ThermoFisher Scientific	25200056
96-well Corning flat bottom black polystyrene tissue culture treated plate	Corning	3603
Hanks' balanced Salts	Sigma-Aldrich	H4891
EGTA	ISC BioExpress	0732-100G
HEPES	Fisher Scientific	BP310-500
D-(+)-Glucose, HybriMax	Sigma-Aldrich	G5146-1KG