Time-dependent fluorescence shift
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The plasma membrane, as a highly complex cell organelle, serves as a crucial platform for a multitude of cellular processes. Its collective biophysical properties are largely determined by the structural diversity of the different lipid species it accommodates. Therefore, a detailed investigation of biophysical properties of the plasma membrane is of utmost importance for a comprehensive understanding of biological processes occurring therein. During the past two decades, several environment-sensitive probes have been developed and become popular tools to investigate membrane properties. Although these probes are assumed to report on membrane order in similar ways, their individual mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, using model membrane systems, we characterized the probes Pro12A, NR12S and NR12A in depth and examined their sensitivity to parameters with potential biological implications, such as the degree of lipid saturation, double bond position and configuration (cis versus trans), phospholipid headgroup and cholesterol content. Applying spectral imaging together with atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and time-dependent fluorescent shift analyses, we unravelled individual sensitivities of these probes to different biophysical properties, their distinct localizations and specific relaxation processes in membranes. Overall, Pro12A, NR12S and NR12A serve together as a toolbox with a wide range of applications allowing to select the most appropriate probe for each specific research question.
Coumarin derivatives are well known fluorescence reporters for investigating biological systems due to their strong micro-environment sensitivity. Despite having wide range of environment sensitive fluorescence probes, the potential of 6,7-dimethoxy-coumarin has not been studied extensively so far. With a perspective of its use in protein studies, namely using the unnatural amino acid technology or as a substrate for hydrolase enzymes, we study acetyloxymethyl-6,7-dimethoxycoumarin (Ac-DMC). We investigate the photophysics and hydration dynamics of this dye in aerosol-OT (AOT) reverse micelles at various water contents using the time dependent fluorescence shift (TDFS) method. The TDFS response in AOT reverse micelles from water/surfactant ratio of 0 to 20 confirms its sensitivity towards the hydration and mobility of its microenvironment. Moreover, we show that the fluorophore can be efficiently quenched by halide ions. Hence, we conclude that the 6,7-dimethoxy-methylcoumarin fluorophore is useful for studying hydration parameters in biologically relevant systems.
The biochemical responses of rock-inhabiting cyanobacteria towards native environmental stresses were observed in vivo in one of the Earth's most challenging extreme climatic environments. The cryptoendolithic cyanobacterial colonization, dominated by Chroococcidiopsis sp., was studied in an ignimbrite at a high altitude volcanic area in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Change in the carotenoid composition (red-shift) within a transect through the cyanobacteria dominant microbial community (average thickness ~1 mm) was unambiguously revealed in their natural endolithic microhabitat. The amount of red shifted carotenoid, observed for the first time in a natural microbial ecosystem, is depth dependent, and increased with increasing proximity to the rock surface, as proven by resonance Raman imaging and point resonance Raman profiling. It is attributed to a light-dependent change in carotenoid conjugation, associated with the light-adaptation strategy of cyanobacteria. A hypothesis is proposed for the possible role of an orange carotenoid protein (OCP) mediated non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) mechanism that influences the observed spectral behavior. Simultaneously, information about the distribution of scytonemin and phycobiliproteins was obtained. Scytonemin was detected in the uppermost cyanobacteria aggregates. A reverse signal intensity gradient of phycobiliproteins was registered, increasing with deeper positions as a response of the cyanobacterial light harvesting complex to low-light conditions.
- MeSH
- biologické pigmenty MeSH
- ekosystém MeSH
- fluorescenční mikroskopie MeSH
- karotenoidy chemie metabolismus MeSH
- konfokální mikroskopie MeSH
- mikrobiologie životního prostředí MeSH
- pouštní klima * MeSH
- sinice * izolace a purifikace metabolismus MeSH
- spektrální analýza MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Cationic lipids are used to deliver genetic material to living cells. Their proper biophysical characterization is needed in order to design and control this process. In the present work we characterize some properties of recently synthetized cationic lipophosphoramidates. The studied compounds share the same structure of their hydrophobic backbone, but differ in their hydrophilic cationic headgroup, which is formed by a trimethylammonium, a trimethylarsonium or a dicationic moiety. Dynamic light scattering and cryo-transmission electron microscopy proves that the studied lipophosphoramidates create stable unilamellar vesicles. Fluorescence of polarity probe, Laurdan, analyzed using time-dependent fluorescence shift method (TDFS) and generalized polarization (GP) gives important information about the phase, hydration and dynamics of the lipophosphoramidate bilayers. While all of the compounds produced lipid bilayers that were sufficiently fluid for their potential application in gene therapy, their polarity/hydration and mobility was lower than for the standard cationic lipid - DOTAP. Mixing cationic lipophosphoramidates with DOPC helps to reduce this difference. The structure of the cationic headgroup has an important and complex influence on bilayer hydration and mobility. Both TDFS and GP methods are suitable for the characterization of cationic amphiphiles and can be used for screening of the newly synthesized compounds.
We emphasize the importance of dynamics and hydration for enzymatic catalysis and protein design by transplanting the active site from a haloalkane dehalogenase with high enantioselectivity to nonselective dehalogenase. Protein crystallography confirms that the active site geometry of the redesigned dehalogenase matches that of the target, but its enantioselectivity remains low. Time-dependent fluorescence shifts and computer simulations revealed that dynamics and hydration at the tunnel mouth differ substantially between the redesigned and target dehalogenase.
- MeSH
- bromované uhlovodíky chemie MeSH
- fluorescenční spektrometrie MeSH
- hydrolasy chemie genetika MeSH
- katalytická doména MeSH
- katalýza MeSH
- konformace proteinů MeSH
- krystalografie rentgenová MeSH
- molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
- mutageneze cílená MeSH
- proteinové inženýrství * MeSH
- sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
- simulace molekulární dynamiky * MeSH
- spektrometrie hmotnostní - ionizace laserem za účasti matrice MeSH
- stereoizomerie MeSH
- voda chemie MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Fluorescence methods are versatile tools for obtaining dynamic and topological information about biomembranes because the molecular interactions taking place in lipid membranes frequently occur on the same timescale as fluorescence emission. The fluorescence intensity decay, in particular, is a powerful reporter of the molecular environment of a fluorophore. The fluorescence lifetime can be sensitive to the local polarity, hydration, viscosity, and/or presence of fluorescence quenchers/energy acceptors within several nanometers of the vicinity of a fluorophore. Illustrative examples of how time-resolved fluorescence measurements can provide more valuable and detailed information about a system than the time-integrated (steady-state) approach will be presented in this review: 1), determination of membrane polarity and mobility using time-dependent spectral shifts; 2), identification of submicroscopic domains by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy; 3), elucidation of membrane leakage mechanisms from dye self-quenching assays; and 4), evaluation of nanodomain sizes by time-resolved Förster resonance energy transfer measurements.
Since pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic activities of drugs are often related to their interactions with biomembranes, it is of high interest to establish an approach for the characterization of these interactions at the molecular level. For the present study, beta-blockers (oxprenolol, propranolol, and acebutolol) were selected due to their well described nonspecific membrane effects (NME). Their interactions with model lipid membranes composed of palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC) were studied using Time-Dependent Fluorescence Shift (TDFS) and Generalized Polarization (GP) as well as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Liposomal vesicles were labeled with fluorescent membrane polarity probes (Laurdan, Prodan, and Dtmac). Increasing beta-blocker concentrations (0-10 mM for acebutolol and oxprenolol, and 0-1.5 mM for propranolol) significantly rigidifies the lipid bilayer at the glycerol and headgroup level, which was detected in the steady-state and in the time-resolved fluorescence data. The effects of propranolol were considerably stronger than those of the two other beta-blockers. The addition of fluorescent probes precisely located at different levels within the lipid bilayer revealed the insertion of the beta-blockers into the POPC bilayer at the glycerol backbone level, which was further confirmed by MD simulations in the case of propranolol.
- MeSH
- acebutolol metabolismus MeSH
- beta blokátory metabolismus MeSH
- fluorescence MeSH
- fluorescenční barviva metabolismus MeSH
- fosfatidylcholiny metabolismus MeSH
- glycerol metabolismus MeSH
- lipidové dvojvrstvy metabolismus MeSH
- liposomy metabolismus MeSH
- membránové lipidy metabolismus MeSH
- oxprenolol metabolismus MeSH
- propranolol metabolismus MeSH
- simulace molekulární dynamiky MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Fluorescence solvent relaxation experiments are based on the characterization of time-dependent shifts in the fluorescence emission of a chromophore, yielding polarity and viscosity information about the chromophore's immediate environment. A chromophore applied to a phospholipid bilayer at a well-defined location (with respect to the z-axis of the bilayer) allows monitoring of the hydration and mobility of the probed segment of the lipid molecules. Specifically, time-resolved fluorescence experiments, fluorescence quenching data and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations show that 6-lauroyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene (Laurdan) probes the hydration and mobility of the sn-1 acyl groups in a phosphatidylcholine bilayer. The time-dependent fluorescence shift (TDFS) of Laurdan provides information on headgroup compression and expansion induced by the addition of different amounts of cationic lipids to phosphatidylcholine bilayers. Those changes were predicted by previous MD simulations. Addition of truncated oxidized phospholipids leads to increased mobility and hydration at the sn-1 acyl level. This experimental finding can be explained by MD simulations, which indicate that the truncated chains of the oxidized lipid molecules are looping back into aqueous phase, hence creating voids below the glycerol level. Fluorescence solvent relaxation experiments are also useful in understanding salt effects on the structure and dynamics of lipid bilayers. For example, such experiments demonstrate that large anions increase hydration and mobility at the sn-1 acyl level of phosphatidylcholine bilayers, an observation which could not be explained by standard MD simulations. If polarizability is introduced into the applied force field, however, MD simulations show that big soft polarizable anions are able to interact with the hydrophilic/hydrophobic interface of the lipid bilayer, penetrating to the level probed by Laurdan, and that they expand and destabilize the bilayer making it more hydrated and mobile.
The transient receptor potential channel TRPC6 is a non-selective cation channel which modulates the calcium level in eukaryotic cells (including sensory receptor cells) in response to external signals. Calmodulin (CaM) is a ubiquitously expressed Ca(2+) binding protein that is an important mediator of Ca(2+)-dependent regulation of the TRPC6 channel. One CaM binding site was identified within the C-tail of TRPC6. The aim of this study is to map in detail the CaM and inositol (1,4,5)-triphosphate receptor binding (CIRB) domain in the C-terminal region of mouse TRPC6 that is capable of interacting with CaM using in vitro binding assays. Besides the set of positively charged amino acid residues Arg852, Lys856, Arg864, Lys859/Arg860, a hydrophobic Ile857, at the position 1 in 1-5-10 motif, was located and the effect of replacing it with a neutral residue was tested using fluorescence anisotropy measurement. Participation of Ile857 could indicate a strong role of this conserved CaM binding motif.
- MeSH
- fluorescenční polarizace MeSH
- kalmodulin metabolismus MeSH
- kationtové kanály TRPC chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- klonování DNA MeSH
- molekulární modely MeSH
- mutageneze cílená MeSH
- myši MeSH
- retardační test MeSH
- spektrometrie hmotnostní - ionizace laserem za účasti matrice MeSH
- vazba proteinů MeSH
- vazebná místa MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- myši MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
... Perform Most Cellular Tasks 10 -- Nucleic Acids Carry Coded Information for Making Proteins at the Right Time ... ... Reaction 55 -- The AS0\' of a Reaction Can Be Calculated from Its Keq 56 -- The Rate of a Reaction Depends ... ... on the Activation Energy Necessary to Energize the Reactants into a Transition State 56 -- Life Depends ... ... Simple-Sequence DNAs Are Concentrated in Specific Chromosomal Locations 224 -- DNA Fingerprinting Depends ... ... Switching Depends upon -- Asymmetric Cell Division 930 -- CONTENTS • XXXÜ! ...
6th ed. xxxvii, 1150 s. : il., tab. ; 29 cm
- MeSH
- biologie buňky MeSH
- molekulární biologie MeSH
- Publikační typ
- monografie MeSH
- Konspekt
- Biochemie. Molekulární biologie. Biofyzika
- NLK Obory
- biologie
- cytologie, klinická cytologie
