一种改进的荧光共振能量转移方法分析同质二聚体内蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用

荧光共振能量转移(fluorescence resonance energy transfer, FRET)技术日益广泛的应用于检测活细胞中分子内和分子间的相互作用. 由于FRET仅发生于相互作用的供体和受体,即供体-受体复合物之间,所以检测的FRET信号必须经标准化处理以去除供体受体比例和浓度的影响然后才能够进行FRET的比较研究. 由于供体和受体的比例相同,分子内FRET的检测较为简单;而分子间FRET的检测存在更多的不确定因素,导致现有的方法很难精确定量.根据1类特殊的分子间相互作用,同质二聚体的独特特征,推导出供体 受体复合物的含量,进而开发了1种同质二聚体分子间FRET的精确定量的方法,以1种同质二聚体,雌激素受体α(estrogen receptor alpha, ERα)为供体和受体对,通过和其它的方法比较,证实了该方法用于FRET检测可获得更可靠的结果.     

蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用及其抑制剂研究进展

蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用在细胞活动和生命过程中扮演着非常重要的角色。基因调节、免疫应答、信号转导、细胞组装等等都离不开蛋白质-蛋白质的相互作用。近几年,靶向蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用及其抑制剂研究也逐渐成为研究的热点;但是蛋白质复合物相互作用界面的一些特点和性质,如相互作用界面较大、结合界面较为平坦等,使蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用及其抑制剂研究充满了挑战。本文主要总结了蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用界面的一些性质和特点,分析了界面特性与其抑制剂设计的关系,并讨论了蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用的理论预测方法及其抑制剂的类型和特点,最后又通过实例说明了如何进行蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用抑制剂的设计。     

基于C6流式细胞仪平台应用FRET技术在活细胞中研究蛋白质相互作用

荧光共振能量转移(fluorescence resonance energy transfer,FRET)显微镜技术被广泛应用于在活细胞中研究蛋白质相互作用。随着流式细胞术(fluorescence activated cell sorting,FACS)的发展与应用,FACS-FRET技术不但可以检测活细胞中蛋白质相互作用,还可以进行定量统计分析。由于流式细胞仪价格昂贵、FRET技术对荧光基团发光光谱的特殊要求等原因,目前为止FACS-FRET技术仅仅被应用到一些特殊的科学研究。为了解决这些问题,构建了一对新的FRET荧光基团EGFP-m Cherry,并且在小型流式细胞仪C6上检测了EGFP-m Cherry融合蛋白的FRET信号,最后使用已明确有相互作用关系的p53蛋白和MDM2蛋白做验证,证明了所构建的EGFPm Cherry可以作为检测FRET信号的荧光基团。不仅促进了FACS-FRET技术的发展,还为人类疾病治疗的药物作用靶点研究提供了有利的研究手段。     

细胞蛋白质相互作用的结构基础

随着人类基因组计划的进行 ,大量基因被发现和定位 ,基因的功能问题将成为今后研究的热点。大多数基因的最终产物是相应的蛋白质 ,因此要认识基因的功能 ,必然要研究基因所表达的蛋白质。蛋白质的功能往往体现在与其他蛋白质及 /或核酸的相互作用之中。细胞各种重要的生理过程 ,包括信号的转导 ,细胞对外界环境及内环境变化的反应等 ,都是以蛋白质间相互作用为纽带 ,并形成网络。所以 ,近年来 ,蛋白质间相互作用的研究逐渐得到重视。蛋白质分子的结构域有很多种 ,但是现在明确作为为介导蛋白质 蛋白质间相互作用的结构域并不多 ,这里取已明…     

串联亲和纯化（TAP）技术在蛋白质组学中的应用

蛋白质是各种生命活动的主要执行者,因此构建蛋白质相互作用的网络图对于准确理解蛋白质功能、揭开各种细胞活动的奥秘十分重要.串联亲和纯化（TAP）,是近年来发展出来的一种能够快速研究在生理条件下蛋白质相互作用,揭示蛋白质复合体相互作用网络的新技术,已成为研究蛋白质组学的一个重要工具.随着该技术的不断完善,TAP技术在认识蛋白质相互作用的过程中必将发挥越来越重要的作用.     

基于关联基因本体论注释的蛋白质相互作用预测

细胞中的生理活动主要是通过蛋白质 - 蛋白质之间的相互作用来调控完成 . 详尽细致的蛋白质 - 蛋白质相互作用网络的解析对于理解细胞中复杂的调控、代谢和信号通路有重要的意义 . 近年来,关于新的蛋白质 - 蛋白质相互作用预测领域进展快速,这里,利用贝叶斯算法结合关联的 GO (Gene Ontology) ,来预测蛋白质的相互作用 . 利用非冗余的蛋白质相互作用数据来观察 GO 对的特性,得到 GO 关联的概率 . 通过阳性的和阴性的标准对照数据证实这个新方法可以很好地区别这两类不同的数据,显示出较好的灵敏度和非常低的假阳性预测率 . 通过与已知的高通量的实验数据比较,这个方法具有灵敏度高、速度快的优点 . 而且,运用这个新方法可以提供一些新的关于细胞内蛋白质之间相互作用的信息,为进一步的实验提供理论依据 .     

预测蛋白质间相互作用的生物信息学方法

后基因组时代的研究模式,已从原来的序列-结构-功能转向基因表达-系统动力学-生理功能。建立蛋白质间相互作用的完全网络,即蛋白质相互作用组(interactome),将有助于从系统角度加深对细胞结构和功能的认识,并为新药靶点的发现和药物设计提供理论基础。一系列系统分析蛋白质相互作用的实验方法已经建立,近年来,出现了多种预测蛋白质相互作用的生物信息学方法,这些方法不仅是对传统实验方法的有价值的补充,而且能够扩展实验方法的预测范围;同时,在开发这些方法的过程中建立了一些重要的分子进化和分子生物学慨念。本文综述了9种生物信息学方法的原理、方法评估、存在的问题．并分析了这个领域的发展前景。     

发现靶向蛋白质间相互作用的小分子药物研究进展

蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用在多种细胞功能中具有重要的作用。靶向蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用已经成为新药发现的重要策略,但发现能阻断蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用的小分子药物是一个巨大的挑战。尽管如此,近年来人们还是发现了许多能调控蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用的小分子。该文主要总结了在病毒进入、细胞凋亡通路和神经退行性疾病等方面的蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用小分子抑制剂的研究进展。     

在活细胞中应用FRET技术研究TGFβ/TβRI信号传导

转移生长因子β(TGFβ)信号传导通路参与调节细胞的增殖、分化、凋亡、细胞迁移等一系列细胞过程,与骨代谢疾病的发病机制密切相关.本研究根据荧光共振能量转移(FRET)技术原理,构建包含CFP-TβRI-YFP融合蛋白的TβRI生物传感器,转染293T细胞,观察转染效率.以TGFβ1为诱导剂,激活TGFβ/TβRI信号传导通路,在活细胞生理条件下,动态监测TβRI生物传感器的FRET效应.结果表明,成功构建了TβRI生物传感器,转染细胞效率达50%,在TGFβ1诱导刺激6min后,FRET效率增加并达到最大值,该过程经历9 min后,随时间的延长,FRET效率下降.研究结果表明:在活细胞生理条件下,TGFβ1/TβRI信号转导过程存在一定的时间特异性.     

酵母双杂交系统在膜蛋白相互作用研究中的应用

膜相关蛋白约占细胞总蛋白质中的1/3,它们大都参与了细胞的诸多生理、病理过程和药物反应机理。研究膜蛋白的相互作用对于揭示细胞的生命活动规律及寻找药物作用靶标都有重要的意义。由于膜蛋白本身的特性及其难以进入核内等原因,经典的酵母双杂交技术并不适用于检测膜蛋白间的相互作用。针对在活细胞中研究膜蛋白相互作用的需要,近年来国际上先后发展了一系列用于膜蛋白相互作用研究的酵母双杂交新系统,并取得了许多重要发现。     

The use of FRET imaging microscopy to detect protein-protein interactions and protein conformational changes in vivo.

Intermolecular and intramolecular FRET between two spectrally overlapping green fluorescent protein variants fused to two different host proteins or at two different sites within the same protein offers a unique opportunity to monitor real-time protein-protein interactions or protein conformational changes. By using fluorescence digital imaging microscopy, one can visualize the location of green fluorescent proteins within a living cell and follow the time course of the changes in FRET corresponding to cellular events at a millisecond time resolution. The observation of such dynamic molecular events in vivo provides vital insight into the action of biological molecules.     

A novel fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay demonstrates that the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Pr55Gag I domain mediates Gag-Gag interactions

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) assembly takes place at the plasma membrane of cells and is directed by the Pr55(Gag) polyprotein (Gag). One of the essential steps in the assembly process is the multimerization of Gag. We have developed a novel fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay for the detection of protein-protein interactions between Gag molecules. We demonstrate that Gag multimerization takes place primarily on cellular membranes, with the majority of these interactions occurring on the plasma membrane. However, distinct sites of Gag-Gag interaction are also present at punctate intracellular locations. The I domain is a functional assembly domain within the nucleocapsid region of Gag that affects particle density, the subcellular localization of Gag, and the formation of detergent-resistant Gag protein complexes. Results from this study provide evidence that the I domain mediates Gag-Gag interactions. Using Gag-fluorescent protein fusion constructs that were previously shown to define the minimal I domain within HIV-1 Pr55(Gag), we show by FRET techniques that protein-protein interactions are greatly diminished when Gag proteins lacking the I domain are expressed. Gag-Tsg101 interactions are also seen in living cells and result in a shift of Tsg101 to the plasma membrane. The results within this study provide direct evidence that the I domain mediates protein-protein interactions between Gag molecules. Furthermore, this study establishes FRET as a powerful tool for the detection of protein-protein interactions involved in retrovirus assembly.     

N-Way FRET Microscopy of Multiple Protein-Protein Interactions in Live Cells

Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) microscopy has emerged as a powerful tool to visualize nanoscale protein-protein interactions while capturing their microscale organization and millisecond dynamics. Recently, FRET microscopy was extended to imaging of multiple donor-acceptor pairs, thereby enabling visualization of multiple biochemical events within a single living cell. These methods require numerous equations that must be defined on a case-by-case basis. Here, we present a universal multispectral microscopy method (N-Way FRET) to enable quantitative imaging for any number of interacting and non-interacting FRET pairs. This approach redefines linear unmixing to incorporate the excitation and emission couplings created by FRET, which cannot be accounted for in conventional linear unmixing. Experiments on a three-fluorophore system using blue, yellow and red fluorescent proteins validate the method in living cells. In addition, we propose a simple linear algebra scheme for error propagation from input data to estimate the uncertainty in the computed FRET images. We demonstrate the strength of this approach by monitoring the oligomerization of three FP-tagged HIV Gag proteins whose tight association in the viral capsid is readily observed. Replacement of one FP-Gag molecule with a lipid raft-targeted FP allowed direct observation of Gag oligomerization with no association between FP-Gag and raft-targeted FP. The N-Way FRET method provides a new toolbox for capturing multiple molecular processes with high spatial and temporal resolution in living cells.     

基于GFP的FRET应用

绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）是一种活性荧光标记,已被用来研究基因表达、分子定位,蛋白质折叠和转运;荧光共振能量转移（FRET）是一种无损伤的光学检测方法,能检测到小于纳米的距离变化。将GFP的活性定位标记功能与FRET的高分辨率相结合。为活体研究生物分子的功能和命运开创了新的篇章。作者在介绍GFP和FRET原理的基础上,综述了基于GFP的FRET在蛋白酶活性,蛋白质间相互作用 构象改变研究中的应用。     

Quantitative measurement of Ca(2+)-dependent calmodulin-target binding by Fura-2 and CFP and YFP FRET imaging in living cells

Calcium dynamics and its linked molecular interactions cause a variety of biological responses; thus, exploiting techniques for detecting both concurrently is essential. Here we describe a method for measuring the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) and protein-protein interactions within the same cell, using Fura-2 and superenhanced cyan and yellow fluorescence protein (seCFP and seYFP, respectively) FRET imaging techniques. Concentration-independent corrections for bleed-through of Fura-2 into FRET cubes across different time points and [Ca(2+)](i) values allowed for an effective separation of Fura-2 cross-talk signals and seCFP and seYFP cross-talk signals, permitting calculation of [Ca(2+)](i) and FRET with high fidelity. This correction approach was particularly effective at lower [Ca(2+)](i) levels, eliminating bleed-through signals that resulted in an artificial enhancement of FRET. By adopting this correction approach combined with stepwise [Ca(2+)](i) increases produced in living cells, we successfully elucidated steady-state relationships between [Ca(2+)](i) and FRET derived from the interaction of seCFP-tagged calmodulin (CaM) and the seYFP-fused CaM binding domain of myosin light chain kinase. The [Ca(2+)](i) versus FRET relationship for voltage-gated sodium, calcium, and TRPC6 channel CaM binding domains (IQ domain or CBD) revealed distinct sensitivities for [Ca(2+)](i). Moreover, the CaM binding strength at basal or subbasal [Ca(2+)](i) levels provided evidence of CaM tethering or apoCaM binding in living cells. Of the ion channel studies, apoCaM binding was weakest for the TRPC6 channel, suggesting that more global Ca(2+) and CaM changes rather than the local CaM-channel interface domain may be involved in Ca(2+)CaM-mediated regulation of this channel. This simultaneous Fura-2 and CFP- and YFP-based FRET imaging system will thus serve as a simple but powerful means of quantitatively elucidating cellular events associated with Ca(2+)-dependent functions.     

Using GFP in FRET-based applications

The use of green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a powerful technology that has recently enabled investigators to study dynamic molecular events within living cells. One method for detecting molecular interactions involves fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between two GFPs or between GFP and a second fluorophore. This review summarizes the use of GFP for FRET and illustrates the theme with specific examples on how GFP has been employed as an intracellular molecular sensor.     

Fluorescence-based methods in the study of protein-protein interactions in living cells

Multiprotein complexes partake in nearly all cell functions, thus the characterization and visualization of protein-protein interactions in living cells constitute an important step in the study of a large array of cellular mechanisms. Recently, noninvasive fluorescence-based methods using resonance energy transfer (RET), namely bioluminescence-RET (BRET) and fluorescence-RET (FRET), and those centered on protein fragment complementation, such as bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC), have been successfully used in the study of protein interactions. These new technologies are nowadays the most powerful approaches for visualizing the interactions occurring within protein complexes in living cells, thus enabling the investigation of protein behavior in their normal milieu. Here we address the individual strengths and weaknesses of these methods when applied to the study of protein-protein interactions.     

Live cell imaging: approaches for studying protein dynamics in living cells

In the last decade, the long-standing biologist's dream of seeing the molecular events within the living cell came true. This technological achievement is largely due to the development of fluorescence microscopy technologies and the advent of green fluorescent protein as a fluorescent probe. Such imaging technologies allowed us to determine the subcellular localization, mobility and transport pathways of specific proteins and even visualize protein-protein interactions of single molecules in living cells. Direct observation of such molecular dynamics can provide important information about cellular events that cannot be obtained by other methods. Thus, imaging of protein dynamics in living cells becomes an important tool for cell biology to study molecular and cellular functions. In this special issue of review articles, we review various imaging technologies of microscope hardware and fluorescent probes useful for cell biologists, with a focus on recent development of live cell imaging.     

Protein localization in living cells and tissues using FRET and FLIM

Interacting proteins assemble into molecular machines that control cellular homeostasis in living cells. While the in vitro screening methods have the advantage of providing direct access to the genetic information encoding unknown protein partners, they do not allow direct access to interactions of these protein partners in their natural environment inside the living cell. Using wide-field, confocal, or two-photon (2p) fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy, this information can be obtained from living cells and tissues with nanometer resolution. One of the important conditions for FRET to occur is the overlap of the emission spectrum of the donor with the absorption spectrum of the acceptor. As a result of spectral overlap, the FRET signal is always contaminated by donor emission into the acceptor channel and by the excitation of acceptor molecules by the donor excitation wavelength. Mathematical algorithms are required to correct the spectral bleed-through signal in wide-field, confocal, and two-photon FRET microscopy. In contrast, spectral bleed-through is not an issue in FRET/FLIM imaging because only the donor fluorophore lifetime is measured; also, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) measurements are independent of excitation intensity or fluorophore concentration. The combination of FRET and FLIM provides high spatial (nanometer) and temporal (nanosecond) resolution when compared to intensity-based FRET imaging. In this paper, we describe various FRET microscopy techniques and its application to protein-protein interactions.