Structure, Affinity, and Availability of Estrogen Receptor Complexes in the Cellular Environment

An ability to measure the biochemical parameters and structures of protein complexes at defined locations within the cellular environment would improve our understanding of cellular function. We describe widely applicable, calibrated Förster resonance energy transfer methods that quantify structural and biochemical parameters for interaction of the human estrogen receptor α-isoform (ERα) with the receptor interacting domains (RIDs) of three cofactors (SRC1, SRC2, SRC3) in living cells. The interactions of ERα with all three SRC-RIDs, measured throughout the cell nucleus, transitioned from structurally similar, high affinity complexes containing two ERαs at low free SRC-RID concentrations (<2 nm) to lower affinity complexes with an ERα monomer at higher SRC-RID concentrations (～10 nm). The methods also showed that only a subpopulation of ERα was available to form complexes with the SRC-RIDs in the cell. These methods represent a template for extracting unprecedented details of the biochemistry and structure of any complex that is capable of being measured by Förster resonance energy transfer in the cellular environment.