Detection of Protein Aggregation using Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy

Summary

We here introduce a procedure to measure protein oligomers and aggregation in cell lysate and live cells using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

Abstract

Protein aggregation is a hallmark of neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), and so on. To detect and analyze soluble or diffuse protein oligomers or aggregates, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), which can detect the diffusion speed and brightness of a single particle with a single molecule sensitivity, has been used. However, the proper procedure and know-how for protein aggregation detection have not been widely shared. Here, we show a standard procedure of FCS measurement for diffusion properties of aggregation-prone proteins in cell lysate and live cells: ALS-associated 25 kDa carboxyl-terminal fragment of TAR DNA/RNA-binding protein 43 kDa (TDP25) and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1). The representative results show that a part of aggregates of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged TDP25 was slightly included in the soluble fraction of murine neuroblastoma Neuro2a cell lysate. Moreover, GFP-tagged SOD1 carrying ALS-associated mutation shows a slower diffusion in live cells. Accordingly, we here introduce the procedure to detect the protein aggregation via its diffusion property using FCS.

Introduction

Protein aggregations involving neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and so on¹ are known to be toxic and would disturb protein homeostasis (proteostasis) in the cells and organs, that could then lead to aging². The clearance of protein aggregation is expected as a therapeutic strategy; however, chemicals that prevent protein aggregation formation and degrade protein aggregates (e.g., small molecules or drugs) have not been established yet. Moreover, how protein aggregation exerts toxicity remains elusive. Therefore, to pro....

Protocol

1. Materials and reagents

1. Use pyrogenic free solutions and medium for cell culture (Table 1).
2. Prepare solutions for the biochemical experiment using ultrapure water and use as DNase/RNase free.
3. Select an appropriate FBS for the cell culture with a lot check process. Since the selected FBS lot changes regularly, the catalog and lot number for FBS cannot be represented here.
4. Plasmid DNA
   1. Prepare pmeGFP-N1⁵ for eGFP monomer expression; pmeGFP-C1-TDP25⁶ for GFP-TDP25 expression; pmeGFP-N1-SOD1-G85R⁷ for SOD1-G85R-GFP expression; and....

Results

We performed FCS measurement of GFP-TDP25 in cell lysate and SOD1-G85R-GFP in live cells. In both cases, a positive amplitude and smooth ACFs were able to be acquired. We have shown that a portion of GFP-TDP25 expressed in Neuro2a cells was recovered in the soluble fraction under the indicated condition⁶. In the soluble fraction of the cell lysate, extremely bright fluorescence molecules were detected in the photon count rate record using FCS (Figure 2A, top, arrow). .......

Discussion

Regarding system calibration before measurements, the same glasswares as the one used to measure the sample should be used (e.g., the 8-wells cover glass chamber for cell lysate and the 35-mm glass base dish for live cells). Because of the adsorption of Rh6G on the glass, its effective concentration may sometimes decrease. If so, a highly concentrated Rh6G solution such as 1 μM should be used just for the pinhole adjustment. Extremely high photon count rates must be avoided to protect the detector (e.g., more than 1.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.25% (w/v) Trypsin-1 mmol/L EDTA·4Na Solution with Phenol Red (Trypsin-EDTA)	Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp.	201-16945
100-mm plastic dishes	CORNING	430167
35-mm glass base dish	IWAKI	3910-035	For live cell measurement
35-mm plastic dishes	Thermo Fisher Scientific	150460
Aluminum plate	Bio-Bik	AB-TC1
C-Apochromat 40x/1.2NA Korr. UV-VIS-IR M27	Carl Zeiss		Objective
Cell scraper	Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.	MS-93100
Cellulose acetate filter membrane (0.22 mm)	Advantech Toyo	25CS020AS
Cover glass chamber 8-wells	IWAKI	5232-008	For solution measurement
Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM)	Sigma-Aldrich	D5796	basal medium
Fetal bovine serum (FBS)	biosera		Lot check required
Lipofectamine 2000	Thermo Fisher Scientific	11668019
LSM510 META + ConfoCor3	Carl Zeiss		FCS system
Murine neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells	ATCC	CCL-131	Cell line
Opti-MEM I	Thermo Fisher Scientific	31985070
pCAGGS	RIKEN	RDB08938	Plasmid DNA for the transfection carrier
Penicillin-Streptomycin Solution (×100 )	Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp.	168-23191
pmeGFP-C1-TDP25			Plasmid DNA for TDP25 tagged with monomeric eGFP
pmeGFP-N1			Plasmid DNA for eGFP monomer expression
pmeGFP-N1-SOD1-G85R			Plasmid DNA for ALS-linked G85R mutant of SOD1 tagged with monomeric eGFP
Protease inhibitor cocktail	Sigma-Aldrich	P8304