scholarly journals Litmus-Body: a Molecularly Targeted Sensor for Cell-Surface pH Measurements

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc C. Goudge ◽  
Joe Chin-Hun Kuo ◽  
Ann E. Metzloff ◽  
Ling-Ting Huang ◽  
Marshall J. Colville ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Stokes Shift ◽  
Ph Sensor ◽  
Endocytic Pathway ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Ph Measurements ◽  
Ph Changes ◽  
Specific Proteins ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACTPrecise pH measurements in the immediate environment of receptors is essential for elucidating the mechanisms through which local pH changes associated with diseased phenotypes manifest into aberrant receptor function. However, current pH sensors lack the molecular specificity required to make these measurements. Herein we present the Litmus-body, our recombinant protein-based pH sensor, which through fusion to an anti-mouse IgG nanobody is capable of molecular targeting to specific proteins on the cell surface. By normalizing a pH-dependent green fluorescent protein to a long-Stokes shift red fluorophore or fluorescent protein, we readily report pH independent of sensor concentration using a single 488-nm excitation. Our Litmus-body showed excellent responsiveness in solution, with a greater than 50-fold change across the physiological regime of pH. The sensor was further validated for use on live cells, shown to be specific to the protein of interest, and was able to successfully recapitulate the numerous pH changes along the endocytic pathway.

scholarly journals Monomer–dimer dynamics and distribution of GPI-anchored uPAR are determined by cell surface protein assemblies

2007 ◽  
Vol 179 (5) ◽  
pp. 1067-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria R. Caiolfa ◽  
Moreno Zamai ◽  
Gabriele Malengo ◽  
Annapaola Andolfo ◽  
Chris D. Madsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Membrane ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Basal Membrane ◽  
Membrane Dynamics ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Cell Surface Protein ◽  
Protein Assemblies

To search for functional links between glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) protein monomer–oligomer exchange and membrane dynamics and confinement, we studied urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) receptor (uPAR), a GPI receptor involved in the regulation of cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. Using a functionally active fluorescent protein–uPAR in live cells, we analyzed the effect that extracellular matrix proteins and uPAR ligands have on uPAR dynamics and dimerization at the cell membrane. Vitronectin directs the recruitment of dimers and slows down the diffusion of the receptors at the basal membrane. The commitment to uPA–plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1–mediated endocytosis and recycling modifies uPAR diffusion and induces an exchange between uPAR monomers and dimers. This exchange is fully reversible. The data demonstrate that cell surface protein assemblies are important in regulating the dynamics and localization of uPAR at the cell membrane and the exchange of monomers and dimers. These results also provide a strong rationale for dynamic studies of GPI-anchored molecules in live cells at steady state and in the absence of cross-linker/clustering agents.

Downregulation of the vasopressin type 2 receptor after vasopressin-induced internalization: involvement of a lysosomal degradation pathway

2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (6) ◽  
pp. C1390-C1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bouley ◽  
Herbert Y. Lin ◽  
Malay K. Raychowdhury ◽  
Vladimir Marshansky ◽  
Dennis Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Collecting Duct ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Renal Medulla ◽  
Degradation Pathway ◽  
Urinary Concentration ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Golgi Network

Vasopressin (VP) increases urinary concentration by signaling through the vasopressin receptor (V2R) in collecting duct principal cells. After downregulation, V2R reappears at the cell surface via an unusually slow (several hours) “recycling” pathway. To examine this pathway, we expressed V2R-green fluorescent protein (GFP) in LLC-PK1a cells. V2R-GFP showed characteristics similar to those of wild-type V2R, including high affinity for VP and adenylyl cyclase stimulation. V2R-GFP was located mainly in the plasma membrane in unstimulated cells, but it colocalized with the lysosomal marker Lysotracker after VP-induced internalization. Western blot analysis of V2R-GFP showed a broad 57- to 68-kDa band and a doublet at 46 and 52 kDa before VP treatment. After 4-h VP exposure, the 57- to 68-kDa band lost 50% of its intensity, whereas the lower 46-kDa band increased by 200%. The lysosomal inhibitor chloroquine abolished this VP effect, whereas lactacystin, a proteasome inhibitor, had no effect. Incubating cells at 20°C to block trafficking from the trans-Golgi network reduced V2R membrane fluorescence, and a perinuclear patch developed. Cycloheximide reduced the intensity of this patch, showing that newly synthesized V2R-GFP contributed significantly to its appearance. Cycloheximide also inhibited the reappearance of cell surface V2R after downregulation. We conclude that after downregulation, V2R-GFP is delivered to lysosomes and degraded. Reappearance of V2R at the cell surface depends on new protein synthesis, partially explaining the long time lag needed to fully reestablish V2R at the cell surface after downregulation. This degradative pathway may be an adaptive response to allow receptor-ligand association in the hypertonic and acidic environment of the renal medulla.

Subcellular redistribution of the renal betaine transporter during hypertonic stress

2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (5) ◽  
pp. C1091-C1100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Kempson ◽  
Vaibhave Parikh ◽  
Lixuan Xi ◽  
Shaoyou Chu ◽  
Marshall H. Montrose
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Posttranscriptional Regulation ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Mdck Cells ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Hypertonic Medium ◽  
Hypertonic Stress ◽  
Antibody Staining ◽  
Renal Inner Medulla ◽  
Green Fluorescent

The betaine transporter (BGT1) protects cells in the hypertonic renal inner medulla by mediating uptake and accumulation of the osmolyte betaine. Transcriptional regulation plays an essential role in upregulation of BGT1 transport when renal cells are exposed to hypertonic medium for 24 h. Posttranscriptional regulation of the BGT1 protein is largely unexplored. We have investigated the distribution of BGT1 protein in live cells after transfection with BGT1 tagged with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Fusion of EGFP to the NH2 terminus of BGT1 produced a fusion protein (EGFP-BGT) with transport properties identical to normal BGT1, as determined by ion dependence, inhibitor sensitivity, and apparent Km for GABA. Confocal microscopy of EGFP-BGT fluorescence in transfected Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells showed that hypertonic stress for 24 h induced a shift in subcellular distribution from cytoplasm to plasma membrane. This was confirmed by colocalization with anti-BGT1 antibody staining. In fibroblasts, transfected EGFP-BGT caused increased transport in response to hypertonic stress. The activation of transport was not accompanied by increased expression of EGFP-BGT, as determined by Western blotting. Membrane insertion of EGFP-BGT protein in MDCK cells began within 2-3 h after onset of hypertonic stress and was blocked by cycloheximide. We conclude that posttranscriptional regulation of BGT1 is essential for adaptation to hypertonic stress and that insertion of BGT1 protein to the plasma membrane may require accessory proteins.

scholarly journals Differential Localization of Rho Gtpases in Live Cells

2001 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Michaelson ◽  
Joseph Silletti ◽  
Gretchen Murphy ◽  
Peter D'Eustachio ◽  
Mark Rush ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rho Gtpases ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Essential Feature ◽  
Hypervariable Region ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Rho Proteins ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Dissociation Inhibitor ◽  
Membrane Compartment ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Determinants of membrane targeting of Rho proteins were investigated in live cells with green fluorescent fusion proteins expressed with or without Rho-guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor (GDI)α. The hypervariable region determined to which membrane compartment each protein was targeted. Targeting was regulated by binding to RhoGDIα in the case of RhoA, Rac1, Rac2, and Cdc42hs but not RhoB or TC10. Although RhoB localized to the plasma membrane (PM), Golgi, and motile peri-Golgi vesicles, TC10 localized to PMs and endosomes. Inhibition of palmitoylation mislocalized H-Ras, RhoB, and TC10 to the endoplasmic reticulum. Although overexpressed Cdc42hs and Rac2 were observed predominantly on endomembrane, Rac1 was predominantly at the PM. RhoA was cytosolic even when expressed at levels in vast excess of RhoGDIα. Oncogenic Dbl stimulated translocation of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Rac1, GFP-Cdc42hs, and GFP-RhoA to lamellipodia. RhoGDI binding to GFP-Cdc42hs was not affected by substituting farnesylation for geranylgeranylation. A palmitoylation site inserted into RhoA blocked RhoGDIα binding. Mutations that render RhoA, Cdc42hs, or Rac1, either constitutively active or dominant negative abrogated binding to RhoGDIα and redirected expression to both PMs and internal membranes. Thus, despite the common essential feature of the CAAX (prenylation, AAX tripeptide proteolysis, and carboxyl methylation) motif, the subcellular localizations of Rho GTPases, like their functions, are diverse and dynamic.

scholarly journals Excited-state locked amino analogues of the green fluorescent protein chromophore with a giant Stokes shift

RSC Advances ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (66) ◽  
pp. 38730-38734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Snizhana O. Zaitseva ◽  
Dilara A. Farkhutdinova ◽  
Nadezhda S. Baleeva ◽  
Alexander Yu. Smirnov ◽  
Marina B. Zagudaylova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Excited State ◽  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Stokes Shift ◽  
Large Stokes Shift ◽  
New Class ◽  
Green Fluorescent

We design a new class of excited-state locked GFP chromophores which intrinsically exhibit a very large Stokes shift.

scholarly journals Double-Labeled Rabies Virus: Live Tracking of Enveloped Virus Transport

2007 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Klingen ◽  
Karl-Klaus Conzelmann ◽  
Stefan Finke
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Rabies Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Signal Sequence ◽  
Surface Membrane ◽  
Fusion Construct ◽  
Virus Particles ◽  
Enveloped Virus ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT Here we describe a strategy to fluorescently label the envelope of rabies virus (RV), of the Rhabdoviridae family, in order to track the transport of single enveloped viruses in living cells. Red fluorescent proteins (tm-RFP) were engineered to comprise the N-terminal signal sequence and C-terminal transmembrane spanning and cytoplasmic domain sequences of the RV glycoprotein (G). Two variants of tm-RFP were transported to and anchored in the cell surface membrane, independent of glycosylation. As shown by confocal microscopy, tm-RFP colocalized at the cell surface with the RV matrix and G protein and was incorporated into G gene-deficient virus particles. Recombinant RV expressing the membrane-anchored tm-RFP in addition to G yielded infectious viruses with mosaic envelopes containing both tm-RFP and G. Viable double-labeled virus particles comprising a red fluorescent envelope and a green fluorescent ribonucleoprotein were generated by expressing in addition an enhanced green fluorescent protein-phosphoprotein fusion construct (S. Finke, K. Brzozka, and K. K. Conzelmann, J. Virol. 78:12333-12343, 2004). Individual enveloped virus particles were observed under live cell conditions as extracellular particles and inside endosomal vesicles. Importantly, double-labeled RVs were transported in the retrograde direction over long distances in neurites of in vitro-differentiated NS20Y neuroblastoma cells. This indicates that the typical retrograde axonal transport of RV to the central nervous system involves neuronal transport vesicles in which complete enveloped RV particles are carried as a cargo.

scholarly journals Cell Surface Organization of Stress-inducible Proteins ULBP and MICA That Stimulate Human NK Cells and T Cells via NKG2D

2004 ◽  
Vol 199 (7) ◽  
pp. 1005-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantina Eleme ◽  
Sabrina B. Taner ◽  
Björn Önfelt ◽  
Lucy M. Collinson ◽  
Fiona E. McCann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Nk Cells ◽  
Lipid Rafts ◽  
Mhc Class I ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Nk Cell ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Class I ◽  
Immune Synapse ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Cell surface proteins major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I–related chain A (MICA) and UL16-binding proteins (ULBP) 1, 2, and 3 are up-regulated upon infection or tumor transformation and can activate human natural killer (NK) cells. Patches of cross-linked raft resident ganglioside GM1 colocalized with ULBP1, 2, 3, or MICA, but not CD45. Thus, ULBPs and MICA are expressed in lipid rafts at the cell surface. Western blotting revealed that glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored ULBP3 but not transmembrane MICA, MHC class I protein, or transferrin receptor, accumulated in detergent-resistant membranes containing GM1. Thus, MICA may have a weaker association with lipid rafts than ULBP3, yet both proteins accumulate at an activating human NK cell immune synapse. Target cell lipid rafts marked by green fluorescent protein–tagged GPI also accumulate with ULBP3 at some synapses. Electron microscopy reveals constitutive clusters of ULBP at the cell surface. Regarding a specific molecular basis for the organization of these proteins, ULBP1, 2, and 3 and MICA are lipid modified. ULBP1, 2, and 3 are GPI anchored, and we demonstrate here that MICA is S-acylated. Finally, expression of a truncated form of MICA that lacks the putative site for S-acylation and the cytoplasmic tail can be expressed at the cell surface, but is unable to activate NK cells.

scholarly journals Internalization of Monomeric Lipopolysaccharide Occurs after Transfer Out of Cell Surface Cd14

1999 ◽  
Vol 190 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Vasselon ◽  
Eric Hailman ◽  
Rolf Thieringer ◽  
Patricia A. Detmers
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Golgi Apparatus ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Soluble Cd14 ◽  
Stable Transfectants ◽  
Intracellular Vesicles ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) fluorescently labeled with boron dipyrromethane (BODIPY) first binds to the plasma membrane of CD14-expressing cells and is subsequently internalized. Intracellular LPS appears in small vesicles near the cell surface and later in larger, punctate structures identified as the Golgi apparatus. To determine if membrane (m)CD14 directs the movement of LPS to the Golgi apparatus, an mCD14 chimera containing enhanced green fluorescent protein (mCD14–EGFP) was used to follow trafficking of mCD14 and BODIPY–LPS in stable transfectants. The chimera was expressed strongly on the cell surface and also in a Golgi complex–like structure. mCD14–EGFP was functional in mediating binding of and responses to LPS. BODIPY–LPS presented to the transfectants as complexes with soluble CD14 first colocalized with mCD14–EGFP on the cell surface. However, within 5–10 min, the BODIPY–LPS distributed to intracellular vesicles that did not contain mCD14–EGFP, indicating that mCD14 did not accompany LPS during endocytic movement. These results suggest that monomeric LPS is transferred out of mCD14 at the plasma membrane and traffics within the cell independently of mCD14. In contrast, aggregates of LPS were internalized in association with mCD14, suggesting that LPS clearance occurs via a pathway distinct from that which leads to signaling via monomeric LPS.

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