A native Western blot method for analyzing endogenous interferon regulatory factor 5 dimerization in the CAL-1 plasmacytoid dendritic cell line is described. This protocol can be applied to other cell lines as well.
Method Article
A native Western blot method for analyzing endogenous interferon regulatory factor 5 dimerization in the CAL-1 plasmacytoid dendritic cell line is described. This protocol can be applied to other cell lines as well.
Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is a key transcription factor for regulating the immune response. It is activated downstream of the Toll-like receptor myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (TLR-MyD88) signaling pathway. IRF5 activation involves phosphorylation, dimerization, and subsequent translocation from the cytoplasm into the nucleus, which in turn induces the gene expression of various pro-inflammatory cytokines. A detection assay for IRF5 activation is essential to studying IRF5 functions and its relevant pathways. This article describes a robust assay to detect endogenous IRF5 activation in the CAL-1 human plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) line. The protocol consists of a modified nondenaturing electrophoresis assay that can distinguish IRF5 in its monomer and dimer forms, thus providing an affordable and sensitive approach to analyze IRF5 activation.
Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is an important transcription regulator that plays a prominent role in regulating the immune response, particularly in the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and type I interferons (IFNs)1,2,3. Misregulation of IRF5 is a contributing factor in numerous autoimmune diseases, as evident by various polymorphisms in the IRF5 locus that are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Therefore, a robust detection assay for endogenous IRF5 activation state is crucial for understanding the regulatory pathways and downstream effects of IRF5 in a physiologically relevant cellular context.
IRF5 is constitutively expressed in monocytes, dendritic cells (DCs), B cells, and macrophages1,11. As with other IRF family transcription factors, IRF5 resides in the cytoplasm in its latent state. Upon activation, IRF5 is phosphorylated and forms homodimers, which then translocate into the nucleus and bind to specific regulatory elements of genes encoding type I IFNs and pro-inflammatory cytokines, eventually inducing the expression of these genes1,2,11,12,13. IRF5 regulates the innate immune responses downstream of various Toll-like receptors (TLRs), such as TLR7, TLR 8, and TLR 9, which are localized in endosomes and use MyD88 for signaling1,11,14. These TLRs primarily recognize foreign nucleic acid species such as single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) and unmethylated CpG DNA that are symptomatic of an infection15,16,17,18. IRF5 has been shown to regulate immune responses against bacterial, viral, and fungal infections19,20,21. Considering IRF5’s influential and diverse role in the immune system, enhancing or dampening IRF5 activity could serve as a novel avenue for the development of therapeutic agents22. Hence, it is critical to develop a protocol to monitor the activation status of endogenous IRF5 to allow thorough investigation of the pathways and mechanisms regulating IRF5 activity in different cell types.
To the best of our knowledge, no biochemical or gel electrophoretic assay for endogenous IRF5 activation has been published prior to the development of this protocol. Phosphorylation has been shown to be an important first step of IRF5 activation, and a phosphospecific IRF5 antibody was developed that led to the discovery and confirmation of a serine residue important for IRF5 activity13. However, while the antibody clearly detects phosphorylated IRF5 when immunoprecipitated or overexpressed23, it fails to detect IRF5 phosphorylation in a whole cell lysate in our hands (data not shown). Dimerization is the next step of IRF5 activation, and many important studies to date investigating this step relied on overexpression of epitope-tagged IRF5, often in irrelevant cell types that do not normally express IRF511,12,24,25. Previous studies have shown that dimerized IRF5 may not always translocate into the nucleus and hence is not necessarily fully activated25,26. An assay for endogenous IRF5 nuclear localization was developed to assess IRF5 activation by imaging flow cytometry27. This assay has been applied in studies that were crucial to understanding IRF5 activity, especially in primary or rare cell types28,29 and greatly advanced the knowledge in the field. However, this assay relies on a specialized instrument that is not widely available to researchers. Further, it is often necessary to investigate the initial steps of activation while dissecting IRF5 regulatory pathways and identifying upstream regulators and pathway components. This study provides a robust and reliable biochemical assay for the early activation events of IRF5 that can be performed in labs equipped with molecular biology tools. The protocol described here will be very useful in investigating the pathways and mechanisms of IRF5 actions, especially when combined with orthogonal assays such as the imaging flow cytometric analysis of IRF5 nuclear localization23,27,28,30.
Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (native PAGE) is a widely used method to analyze protein complexes31,32. Unlike sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), native PAGE separates proteins on the basis of their shape, size, and charge. It also retains native protein structure without denaturation31,33,34,35. The protocol presented takes advantage of these features of native PAGE and detects both monomeric and dimeric forms of IRF5. This method is particularly important for detecting early activation events because there is no suitable commercially available antibody that can detect endogenous phosphorylated IRF5. Previously, several published studies used native PAGE to assess IRF5 dimerization. However, the majority of these studies depended on the overexpression of exogenous epitope-tagged IRF5 to analyze activation status2,13,24,36,37. This work presents a step-by-step protocol for analyzing endogenous IRF5 dimerization via a modified native PAGE technique in a human plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) line, where IRF5 activity has been shown to be crucial for its function1,38,39,40. This same technique has been applied to other cell lines23.
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NOTE: The protocol described here uses CAL-1 pDC cell line treated with resiquimod (R848), an agonist for TLR7/8. This protocol has been applied to other human and murine cell types, including RAW 264.7 (murine macrophage line), THP-1 (human monocytic cell line), BJAB (human B cell line), Ramos (human B cell line), and MUTZ-3 (human dendritic cell line)23.
1. Stimulation of CAL-1 Cells
2. Extraction of Cellular Proteins
3. Analysis of IRF5 Dimerization by Native PAGE
4. Immunoblot Analysis of IRF5
| Dillution | Dillution buffer | Incubation | Comments | |
| Primary antibody(Anti-IRF5) | 1/1,000 | TBS blocking buffer | Overnight at 4 °C or 2 h at RT | Diluted antibodies can be reused several times if stored at 4 °C in the presence of 0.02% sodium azide. |
| Secondary antibody(Anti-rabbit) | 1/10,000 | TBS blocking buffer | 45 min at RT | Diluted antibodies can be reused several times if stored at 4 °C in the presence of 0.02% sodium azide. |
| NOTE: Dilution need to be optimized as it varies between manufacturers. | ||||
Table 1: Specifications of the antibodies used in the immunoblotting procedure.
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The immunoblot (IB) with an anti-IRF5 antibody was performed on CAL-1 cells unstimulated or stimulated with 1 µg/mL R848 for 2 h (Figure 1). Cell lysates were prepared, and the native PAGE was performed. In unstimulated CAL-1 cells, IRF5 was detected as a single band on the native PAGE, corresponding to its monomeric form. Upon treatment of CAL-1 cells with R848 for 2 h, the level of IRF5 monomer decreased with a concurrent increase in the accumulation of a slowly migrating band that corresp...
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The protocol described here is a modified native PAGE that distinguishes both monomeric and dimeric forms of endogenous IRF5. There have been few studies reporting the detection of endogenous IRF5 activation using the specialized imaging flow cytometry technique23,27,28,30. This protocol uses a common technique and commonplace reagents and tools to assess the endogenous IRF5 activation state du...
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The authors have nothing to disclose.
The work was supported by funding from the Croucher Foundation and City University startup funds. We thank all members of the Chow laboratory for help with the experiment and critical reading of the manuscript.
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| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-Mercaptoethanol | Life Technologies, HK | 21985023 | |
| 300 W/250 V power supply 230 V AC | Life Technologies, HK | PS0301 | |
| Anti-IRF5 antibody | Bethyl Laboratories, USA | A303-385 | |
| BIOSAN Rocker Shaker (cold room safe) | EcoLife, HK | MR-12 | |
| EDTA Buffer, pH 8, 0.5 M 4x 100 mL | Life Technologies | 15575020 | |
| Glycerol 500 mL | Life Technologies | 15514011 | |
| Glycine | Life Technologies, HK | 15527013 | |
| Goat anti-Mouse IgG DyLight 800 Conjugated Antibody | LAB-A-PORTER/Rockland, HK | 610-145-002-0.5 | |
| Goat anti-Rabbit IgG DyLight 800 Conjugated Antibody | LAB-A-PORTER/Rockland, HK | 611-145-002-0.5 | |
| Halt protease inhibitor cocktail (100x) | Thermo Fisher Scientific, HK | 78430 | |
| HEPES | Life Technologies, HK | 15630080 | |
| LI-COR Odyssey Blocking Buffer (TBS) | Gene Company, HK | 927-50000 | |
| Mini Tank blot module combo; Transfer module, accessories | Life Technologies, HK | NW2000 | |
| NativePAGE 3-12% gels, 10 well kit | Life Technologies, HK | BN1001BOX | |
| NativePAGE Running Buffer 20x | Life Technologies, HK | BN2001 | |
| NativePAGE Sample Buffer 4x | Life Technologies, HK | BN2003 | |
| NP-40 Alternative, Nonylphenyl Polyethylene Glycol | Tin Hang/Calbiochem, HK | #492016-100ML | |
| PBS 7.4 | Life Technologies, HK | 10010023 | |
| Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane | Bio-gene/Merck Millipore, HK | IPFL00010 | |
| Protein assay kit II (BSA) | Bio-Rad, HK | 5000002 | |
| R848 | Invivogen, HK | tlrl-r848 | |
| RPMI 1640 | Life Technologies, HK | 61870127 | |
| Sodium Chloride | ThermoFisher | BP358-1 | |
| Sodium deoxycholate ≥97% (titration) | Tin Hang/Sigma, HK | D6750-100G | |
| Tris | Life Technologies, HK | 15504020 | |
| TWEEN 20 | Tin Hang/Sigma, HK | #P9416-100ML |
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