Endogenous BioID elucidates TCF7L1 interactome modulation upon GSK-3 inhibition in mouse ESCs

Modulation of Wnt target gene expression via the TCF/LEFs remains poorly understood. We employ proximity-based biotin labeling (BioID) to examine GSK-3 inhibitor effects on the TCF7L1 interactome in mouse ESCs. We generated ESC lines with biotin ligase BirA* fused to TCF7L1 by knocking it into the endogenous TCF7L1 locus or by inserting a doxinducible BirA*-TCF7L1 transgene into the Rosa26 locus. Induction yielded BirA*-TCF7L1 levels 3-fold higher than in the endogenous system, but substantial overlap in biotinylated proteins with high peptide counts were detected by each method. Known TCF7L1 interactors TLE3/4 and β-catenin, and numerous proteins not previously associated with TCF7L1, were identified in both systems. Despite reduced BirA*-TCF7L1 levels, the number of hits identified with both BioID approaches increased after GSK-3 inhibition. We elucidate the network of TCF7L1 proximal proteins regulated by GSK-3 inhibition, validate the utility of endogenous BioID, and provide mechanistic insights into TCF7L1 target gene regulation.HighlightsBirA*-TCF7L1 at single-copy physiological levels generates robust BioID dataCHIR99021 reduces TCF7L1 levels but increases detectable TCF7L1-proximal proteinsThe TCF7L1 interactome of largely epigenetic/transcription factors fluctuates with GSK-3 inhibitionJMJD1C, SALL4 and BRG1/SMARCA4 are validated as TCF7L-interacting proteins

An improved smaller biotin ligase for BioID proximity labeling

The BioID method uses a promiscuous biotin ligase to detect protein–protein associations as well as proximate proteins in living cells. Here we report improvements to the BioID method centered on BioID2, a substantially smaller promiscuous biotin ligase. BioID2 enables more-selective targeting of fusion proteins, requires less biotin supplementation, and exhibits enhanced labeling of proximate proteins. Thus BioID2 improves the efficiency of screening for protein–protein associations. We also demonstrate that the biotinylation range of BioID2 can be considerably modulated using flexible linkers, thus enabling application-specific adjustment of the biotin-labeling radius.

A Modified Carbon Monoxide Breath Test for Measuring Erythrocyte Lifespan in Small Animals

This study was to develop a CO breath test for RBC lifespan estimation of small animals. The ribavirin induced hemolysis rabbit models were placed individually in a closed rebreath cage and air samples were collected for measurement of CO concentration. RBC lifespan was calculated from accumulated CO, blood volume, and hemoglobin concentration data. RBC lifespan was determined in the same animals with the standard biotin-labeling method. RBC lifespan data obtained by the CO breath test method for control (CON,49.0±5.9 d) rabbits, rabbits given 10 mg/kg·d−1of ribavirin (RIB10,31.0±4.0 d), and rabbits given 20 mg/kg·d−1of ribavirin (RIB20,25.0±2.9 d) were statistically similar (allp>0.05) to and linearly correlated (r=0.96,p<0.01) with the RBC lifespan data obtained for the same rabbits by the standard biotin-labeling method (CON,51.0±2.7 d; RIB10,33.0±1.3 d; and RIB20,27.0±0.8 d). The CO breath test method takes less than 3 h to complete, whereas the standard method requires at least several weeks. In conclusion, the CO breath test method provides a simple and rapid means of estimating RBC lifespan and is feasible for use with small animal models.