Presented here is a protocol for the determination of oligomeric state of membrane proteins that utilizes a native cell membrane nanoparticle system in conjunction with electron microscopy.
A subscription to JoVE is required to view this content. Sign in or start your free trial.
Method Article
Native Cell Membrane Nanoparticles System for Membrane Protein-Protein Interaction Analysis
In This Article
Summary
Abstract
Protein-protein interactions in cell membrane systems play crucial roles in a wide range of biological processes- from cell-to-cell interactions to signal transduction; from sensing environmental signals to biological response; from metabolic regulation to developmental control. Accurate structural information of protein-protein interactions is crucial for understanding the molecular mechanisms of membrane protein complexes and for the design of highly specific molecules to modulate these proteins. Many in vivo and in vitro approaches have been developed for the detection and analysis of protein-protein interactions. Among them the structural biology approach is unique in that it can provide direct structural information of protein-protein interactions at the atomic level. However, current membrane protein structural biology is still largely limited to detergent-based methods. The major drawback of detergent-based methods is that they often dissociate or denature membrane protein complexes once their native lipid bilayer environment is removed by detergent molecules. We have been developing a native cell membrane nanoparticle system for membrane protein structural biology. Here, we demonstrate the use of this system in the analysis of protein-protein interactions on the cell membrane with a case study of the oligomeric state of AcrB.
Introduction
Protein-protein interactions (PPI) play pivotal roles throughout biology, from the maintenance of the structure and function of proteins to the regulation of entire systems. PPIs come in many different forms and can be categorized based on what types of interactions they form. One such categorization is homooligomeric or heterooligomeric, based on whether the interactions are between identical subunits or different proteins acting as subunits. Another categorization is based on the strength of the interaction if the interactions leads to the formation of stable complexes or transient complex states. Structural information about the PPIs between proteins is crucial in ....
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
Protocol
1. Protein expression
- Inoculate 15 mL of Terrific Broth (TB) media with antibiotics specific to plasmids with BL21(DE3) pLysS cells containing the AcrB expressing plasmids in 50 mL tubes overnight at 37 °C with shaking at 250 rpm.
- Check the optical density of the overnight culture at 600 nm (OD600) and ensure that it is over 2.0.
- Dilute 5 mL of cell culture into 1 L of TB media containing antibiotics specific to plasmids and incubate at 37 °C with shaking until OD600=0.8 and then induce with IPTG that has a final concentration of 1 mM.
- Carry out induction at 20 °C with shaking for 20 h.
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
Results
Using the procedures presented here, samples of E. coli AcrB wild type and E. coli mutant AcrB-P223G were purified. The samples were then adsorbed to carbon negative stain electron microscopy grids and stained using uranyl acetate with the side blotting method22. Negative stain images were collected using transmission electron microscopy. The negative stain image for the AcrB wild type sample purified with DDM reveals a homogenous solution of monodispersed particles with the prot.......
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
Discussion
Protein-protein interactions are important for the integrity of the structure and function of membrane proteins. Many approaches have been developed to investigate protein-protein interactions. When compared with soluble proteins, membrane proteins and their PPIs are more difficult to study due to the unique intrinsic properties of membrane proteins. This difficulty mainly comes from the requirement of membrane proteins to be embedded in a native lipid bilayer environment for structural stability and functionality. This .......
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
Disclosures
Y.G is listed as inventor of the membrane active polymer NCMNP5-2 and NCMN system.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by VCU startup fund (to Y.G.) and the National Institute Of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01GM132329 (to Y.G.) The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We thank Montserrat Samso and Kevin McRoberts for their generous support for video recording.
....Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
Materials
| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemicals | |||
| 30% Acrylamide/BIS SOL (37.5:1) | Bio-Rad | 161-0158 | |
| 4x Laemmli Sample Buffer (Loading Buffer) | Bio-Rad | 1610747 | |
| Acetic Acid Glacial | ThermoFisher Scientific | A38S-212 | |
| Ammonium Persulfate (APS) | Bio-Rad | 161-0700 | |
| Chloramphenicol | Goldbio | C-105-5 | |
| Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 protein stain powder | Bio-Rad | 161-0400 | |
| DTT (Dithiothreitol) (> 99% pure) Protease free | Goldbio | DTT10 | |
| Glycerol | ThermoFisher Scientific | G33-4 | |
| HEPES | ThermoFisher Scientific | BP310-1 | |
| Imidazole | Affymetrix | 17525 1 KG | |
| IPTG | Goldbio | I2481C100 | |
| Kanamycin | Goldbio | K-120-25 | |
| Magnesium chloride hexahydrate | ThermoFisher Scientific | AA3622636 | |
| Methanol | ThermoFisher Scientific | A412-4 | |
| N,N-dimethylethylenediamine (EDTA) | Merck | 8.03779.0100 | |
| NCMNS-P5-2 | Not commercially available yet | Submit request for obtaining to corresponding author | |
| Precision Plus Protein Dual Color Standard | Bio-Rad | 161-0374 | |
| SDS (Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate) | Bio-Rad | 161-0301 | |
| SMA2000 | Cray Valley | Submit request for obtaining to corresponding author | |
| Sodium Chloride | ThermoFisher Scientific | S271-10 | |
| TCEP-HCl | Goldbio | TCEP25 | |
| TEMED | Bio-Rad | 161-0800 | |
| Terrific Broth Media | Affymetrix | 75856 1 KG | |
| Tris Base | Bio-Rad | 161-0719 | |
| Uranyl Acetate | Ambinter | Amb22348393 | |
| Equipment | |||
| Avanti J-26S XPI | Beckman Coulter | B14538 | |
| Avanti JXN-30 | Beckman Coulter | B34193 | |
| Carbon Electron Microscope Grids (10 nm) | Electron Microscopy Sciences | CF300-Cu-TH | |
| Con-Torque Tissue Homogenizer | Eberbach | E7265 | |
| Corning LSE Mini Microcentrifuge | ThermoFisher Scientific | 07-203-954 | |
| EmulsiFlex-C3 | Avestin | ||
| Fraction Collector F9-R | GE Healthcare Life Sciences | 29003875 | |
| Mini-PROTEAN Tetra Vertical Electrophoresis Cell | Bio-Rad | 165-8004 | |
| NanoDrop 2000 Spectrophotometer | ThermoFisher Scientific | ND-2000 | |
| Optima L-90K Ultracentrifuge | Beckman Coulter | PN LL-IM-12AB | |
| PELCO easiGlow Glow Discharge Cleaning System | Ted Pella | 91000S-230 | |
| Potter-Elvehjem Safe Grind Tissue Grinder | Wheaton | 358013 | |
| PowerPac Basic Power Supply | Bio-Rad | 164-5050 | |
| Razel R99-E Variable Speed Syringe Pump | Razel Scientific Instruments | ||
| Superdex 200 Increase 10/300 GL | GE Healthcare Life Sciences | 28990944 | |
| Tecnai F20 200kV | FEI | ||
| Type 70 Ti Fixed-Angle Rotor | Beckman Coulter | ||
| General Materials | |||
| 1.5 ml Microcentrifuge Tubes | ThermoFisher Scientific | 05-408-129 | |
| 4 ml Amicon Ultra-4 30 kDa | Millipore Sigma | UFC803024 | |
| AKTA pure 25 L1 FPLC | GE Healthcare Life Sciences | 29018225 | |
| BL21(DE3)pLysS Cells | ThermoFisher Scientific | C606003 | |
| Falcon 50 ml Conical Centrifuge Tube | ThermoFisher Scientific | 14-959-49A | |
| HisTrap HP 5 ml Column | GE Healthcare Life Sciences | 17524802 | |
| pET-24a | EMD Biosciences | 69749-3 |
References
- Berggard, T., Linse, S., James, P. Methods for the detection and analysis of protein-protein interactions. Proteomics. 7 (16), 2833-2842 (2007).
- Huang, H., Bader, J. S. Precision and recall estimates for two-hybrid screens. Bioinformatics. 25 (3), 372-378 (2009).<....
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
Reprints and Permissions
