Visualization of Membrane Sorting and Fusion in Living Cells using Total Internal Reflection (TIR) and Multicolor Video Microscopy

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (S2) ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
Derek Toomre ◽  
Patrick Keller ◽  
Elena Diaz ◽  
Jamie White ◽  
Kai Simons
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Total Internal Reflection ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Video Microscopy ◽  
Internal Reflection ◽  
Fast Time ◽  
Cellular Polarity ◽  
Microscopy Technique

Post-Golgi sorting of different classes of newly synthesized proteins and lipids is central to the generation and maintenance of cellular polarity. to directly visualize the dynamics and location of apical/basolateral sorting and trafficking we used fast time-lapse multicolor video microscopy in living cells. Specifically, green fluorescent protein color variants (cyan, CFP; yellow, YFP) of apical cargo (GPI-anchored) and basolateral cargo (vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein, VSVG) were generated; see FIG 1. Fast dual color fluorescence video microscopy allowed visualization with high temporal and spatial resolution. Our studies revealed that apical and basolateral cargo progressively segregated into large domains in Golgi/TGN structures, excluded resident proteins, and exited in separate transport containers. These carries remained distinct and did not merge with endocytic structures en route to the plasma membrane. Interestingly, our data suggest that the primary sorting occurs by lateral segregation in the Golgi, prior to budding (FIG 2). Further characterization of morphological differences of apical versus basolateral transport carriers was achieved using a specialized microscopy technique called total internal reflection (TIR) microscopy. with this approach only the bottom of the cell (<100 nm) was illuminated by an exponentially decaying evanescent “wave” of light. A series of images, taken at ∼1 second intervals, shows a bright “flash” of fluorescence when the vesicle fuse with the plasma membrane and the fluorophore diffuses into the plasma membrane (FIG 3).

scholarly journals Imaging Constitutive Exocytosis with Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy

2000 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Schmoranzer ◽  
Mark Goulian ◽  
Dan Axelrod ◽  
Sanford M. Simon
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Protein ◽  
Fluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Total Internal Reflection ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Internal Reflection ◽  
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Flattening Process

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy has been applied to image the final stage of constitutive exocytosis, which is the fusion of single post-Golgi carriers with the plasma membrane. The use of a membrane protein tagged with green fluorescent protein allowed the kinetics of fusion to be followed with a time resolution of 30 frames/s. Quantitative analysis allowed carriers undergoing fusion to be easily distinguished from carriers moving perpendicularly to the plasma membrane. The flattening of the carriers into the plasma membrane is seen as a simultaneous rise in the total, peak, and width of the fluorescence intensity. The duration of this flattening process depends on the size of the carriers, distinguishing small spherical from large tubular carriers. The spread of the membrane protein into the plasma membrane upon fusion is diffusive. Mapping many fusion sites of a single cell reveals that there are no preferred sites for constitutive exocytosis in this system.

ANALYSIS OF MEMBRANE-BINDING PROTEIN MOBILITY IN LIVING CELLS USING TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION FLUORESCENCE CORRELATION SPECTROSCOPY

2006 ◽  
Vol 01 (03) ◽  
pp. 293-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. OHSUGI ◽  
MASATAKA KINJO
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Total Internal Reflection ◽  
Membrane Binding ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Internal Reflection ◽  
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence ◽  
Fluorescence Correlation

Total internal reflection fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (TIR-FCS) is an appropriate method for measuring diffusion constants and the number of fluorescent molecules very close to the coverglass surface. Recently, we have reported the application of TIR-FCS to cell biology, measuring membrane-binding farnesylated green fluorescent proteins (EGFP-F) in living cells. In this research, we measured the signal transduction molecule, protein kinase C (PKC), fused with EGFP in living HeLa cells by using TIR-FCS. We observed two different diffusional mobilities of PKCβII-EGFP, three-dimensional faster diffusion near the plasma membrane and slower lateral diffusion on the plasma membrane after adinosine tri phosphate (ATP) activation. These results indicate that it is possible to use TIR-FCS in the study of molecular dynamics and interactions of signal transduction proteins on the plasma membrane of the living cell.

scholarly journals Visualization of Regulated Exocytosis with a Granule-Membrane Probe Using Total Internal Reflection Microscopy

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 4658-4668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam W. Allersma ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Daniel Axelrod ◽  
Ronald W. Holz
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Total Internal Reflection ◽  
Secretory Pathway ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Secretory Granules ◽  
Evanescent Field ◽  
Internal Reflection ◽  
Spherical Granule ◽  
Granule Membrane ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Secretory granules labeled with Vamp-green fluorescent protein (GFP) showed distinct signatures upon exocytosis when viewed by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. In ∼90% of fusion events, we observed a large increase in fluorescence intensity coupled with a transition from a small punctate appearance to a larger, spreading cloud with free diffusion of the Vamp-GFP into the plasma membrane. Quantitation suggests that these events reflect the progression of an initially fused and spherical granule flattening into the plane of the plasma membrane as the Vamp-GFP simultaneously diffuses through the fusion junction. Approximately 10% of the events showed a transition from puncta to ring-like structures coupled with little or no spreading. The ring-like images correspond quantitatively to granules fusing and retaining concavity (recess of ∼200 nm). A majority of fusion events involved granules that were present in the evanescent field for at least 12 s. However, ∼20% of the events involved granules that were present in the evanescent field for no more than 0.3 s, indicating that the interaction of the granule with the plasma membrane that leads to exocytosis can occur within that time. In addition, ∼10% of the exocytotic sites were much more likely to occur within a granule diameter of a previous event than can be accounted for by chance, suggestive of sequential (piggy-back) exocytosis that has been observed in other cells. Overall granule behavior before and during fusion is strikingly similar to exocytosis previously described in the constitutive secretory pathway.

scholarly journals Direct Visualization of the Translocation of the γ-Subspecies of Protein Kinase C in Living Cells Using Fusion Proteins with Green Fluorescent Protein

1997 ◽  
Vol 139 (6) ◽  
pp. 1465-1476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norio Sakai ◽  
Keiko Sasaki ◽  
Natsu Ikegaki ◽  
Yasuhito Shirai ◽  
Yoshitaka Ono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Protein Kinase C ◽  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Nmda Receptor ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Kinase C ◽  
Gfp Fusion Protein ◽  
Green Fluorescent

We expressed the γ-subspecies of protein kinase C (γ-PKC) fused with green fluorescent protein (GFP) in various cell lines and observed the movement of this fusion protein in living cells under a confocal laser scanning fluorescent microscope. γ-PKC–GFP fusion protein had enzymological properties very similar to that of native γ-PKC. The fluorescence of γ-PKC– GFP was observed throughout the cytoplasm in transiently transfected COS-7 cells. Stimulation by an active phorbol ester (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate [TPA]) but not by an inactive phorbol ester (4α-phorbol 12, 13-didecanoate) induced a significant translocation of γ-PKC–GFP from cytoplasm to the plasma membrane. A23187, a Ca2+ ionophore, induced a more rapid translocation of γ-PKC–GFP than TPA. The A23187-induced translocation was abolished by elimination of extracellular and intracellular Ca2+. TPA- induced translocation of γ-PKC–GFP was unidirected, while Ca2+ ionophore–induced translocation was reversible; that is, γ-PKC–GFP translocated to the membrane returned to the cytosol and finally accumulated as patchy dots on the plasma membrane. To investigate the significance of C1 and C2 domains of γ-PKC in translocation, we expressed mutant γ-PKC–GFP fusion protein in which the two cysteine rich regions in the C1 region were disrupted (designated as BS 238) or the C2 region was deleted (BS 239). BS 238 mutant was translocated by Ca2+ ionophore but not by TPA. In contrast, BS 239 mutant was translocated by TPA but not by Ca2+ ionophore. To examine the translocation of γ-PKC–GFP under physiological conditions, we expressed it in NG-108 cells, N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor–transfected COS-7 cells, or CHO cells expressing metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (CHO/mGluR1 cells). In NG-108 cells , K+ depolarization induced rapid translocation of γ-PKC–GFP. In NMDA receptor–transfected COS-7 cells, application of NMDA plus glycine also translocated γ-PKC–GFP. Furthermore, rapid translocation and sequential retranslocation of γ-PKC–GFP were observed in CHO/ mGluR1 cells on stimulation with the receptor. Neither cytochalasin D nor colchicine affected the translocation of γ-PKC–GFP, indicating that translocation of γ-PKC was independent of actin and microtubule. γ-PKC–GFP fusion protein is a useful tool for investigating the molecular mechanism of γ-PKC translocation and the role of γ-PKC in the central nervous system.

scholarly journals An Artificially Constructed De Novo Human Chromosome Behaves Almost Identically to Its Natural Counterpart during Metaphase and Anaphase in Living Cells

2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (20) ◽  
pp. 7682-7695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Tsuduki ◽  
Megumi Nakano ◽  
Nao Yasuoka ◽  
Saeko Yamazaki ◽  
Teruaki Okada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yeast Artificial Chromosome ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Artificial Chromosome ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Lac Repressor ◽  
Host Chromosome ◽  
Artificial Chromosomes ◽  
Spindle Midzone

ABSTRACT Human artificial chromosomes (HACs) are promising reagents for the analysis of chromosome function. While HACs are maintained stably, the segregation mechanisms of HACs have not been investigated in detail. To analyze HACs in living cells, we integrated 256 copies of the Lac operator into a precursor yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) containing α-satellite DNA and generated green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged HACs in HT1080 cells expressing a GFP-Lac repressor fusion protein. Time-lapse analyses of GFP-HACs and host centromeres in living mitotic cells indicated that the HAC was properly aligned at the spindle midzone and that sister chromatids of the HAC separated with the same timing as host chromosomes and moved to the spindle poles with mobility similar to that of the host centromeres. These results indicate that a HAC composed of a multimer of input α-satellite YACs retains most of the functions of the centromeres on natural chromosomes. The only difference between the HAC and the host chromosome was that the HAC oscillated more frequently, at higher velocity, across the spindle midzone during metaphase. However, this provides important evidence that an individual HAC has the capacity to maintain tensional balance in the pole-to-pole direction, thereby stabilizing its position around the spindle midzone.

Measurement of Ca2+ signaling dynamics in exocrine cells with total internal reflection microscopy

2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (1) ◽  
pp. G146-G155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong Hak Won ◽  
David I. Yule
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Total Internal Reflection ◽  
Acinar Cells ◽  
Internal Reflection ◽  
Pancreatic Acinar Cells ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Exocrine Cells ◽  
Parotid Acinar Cells ◽  
Signaling Dynamics ◽  
Total Internal Reflection Microscopy

In nonexcitable cells, such as exocrine cells from the pancreas and salivary glands, agonist-stimulated Ca2+ signals consist of both Ca2+ release and Ca2+ influx. We have investigated the contribution of these processes to membrane-localized Ca2+ signals in pancreatic and parotid acinar cells using total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy (TIRFM). This technique allows imaging with unsurpassed resolution in a limited zone at the interface of the plasma membrane and the coverslip. In TIRFM mode, physiological agonist stimulation resulted in Ca2+ oscillations in both pancreas and parotid with qualitatively similar characteristics to those reported using conventional wide-field microscopy (WFM). Because local Ca2+ release in the TIRF zone would be expected to saturate the Ca2+ indicator (Fluo-4), these data suggest that Ca2+ release is occurring some distance from the area subjected to the measurement. When acini were stimulated with supermaximal concentrations of agonists, an initial peak, largely due to Ca2+ release, followed by a substantial, maintained plateau phase indicative of Ca2+ entry, was observed. The contribution of Ca2+ influx and Ca2+ release in isolation to these near-plasma membrane Ca2+ signals was investigated by using a Ca2+ readmission protocol. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+, the profile and magnitude of the initial Ca2+ release following stimulation with maximal concentrations of agonist or after SERCA pump inhibition were similar to those obtained with WFM in both pancreas and parotid acini. In contrast, when Ca2+ influx was isolated by subsequent Ca2+ readmission, the Ca2+ signals evoked were more robust than those measured with WFM. Furthermore, in parotid acinar cells, Ca2+ readdition often resulted in the apparent saturation of Fluo-4 but not of the low-affinity dye Fluo-4-FF. Interestingly, Ca2+ influx as measured by this protocol in parotid acinar cells was substantially greater than that initiated in pancreatic acinar cells. Indeed, robust Ca2+ influx was observed in parotid acinar cells even at low physiological concentrations of agonist. These data indicate that TIRFM is a useful tool to monitor agonist-stimulated near-membrane Ca2+ signals mediated by Ca2+ influx in exocrine acinar cells. In addition, TIRFM reveals that the extent of Ca2+ influx in parotid acinar cells is greater than pancreatic acinar cells when compared using identical methodologies.

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