Investigation of GST fusion proteins for screening protein interactions

Bioluminescent resonance energy transfer (BRET2) is a recently developed technology for the measurement of protein-protein interactions in a live, cell-based system. BRET2 is characterized by the efficient transfer of excited energy between a bioluminescent donor molecule (Renilla luciferase) and a fluorescent acceptor molecule (a mutant of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP2)). The BRET2 assay offers advantages over fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) because it does not require an external light source thereby eliminating problems of photobleaching and autoflourescence. The absence of contamination by light results in low background that permits detection of very small changes in the BRET2 signal. BRET2 is dependent on the orientation and distance between two fusion proteins and therefore requires extensive preliminary standardization experiments to conclude a positive BRET2 signal independent of variations in protein titrations and arrangement in tertiary structures. Estrogen receptor (ER) signaling is modulated by steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC-1). To establish BRET2 in a ligand inducible system we used SRC-1 as the donor moiety and ER as the acceptor moiety. Expression and functionality of the fusion proteins were assessed by transient transfection in HEK-293 cells followed by Western blot analysis and measurement of ER-dependent reporter gene activity. These preliminary determinations are required prior to measuring nuclear receptor protein-protein interactions by BRET2. This article describes in detail the BRET2 methodology for measuring interaction between full-length ER and coregulator proteins in real-time, in an in vivo environment.

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Interdependent assembly of specific regulatory lipids and membrane fusion proteins into the vertex ring domain of docked vacuoles

The Journal of Cell Biology ◽

10.1083/jcb.200409068 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 167 (6) ◽

pp. 1087-1098 ◽

Cited By ~ 170

Author(s):

Rutilio A. Fratti ◽

Youngsoo Jun ◽

Alexey J. Merz ◽

Nathan Margolis ◽

William Wickner

Keyword(s):

Membrane Fusion ◽

Protein Interactions ◽

Fusion Proteins ◽

Membrane Microdomains ◽

Rab Gtpase ◽

Protein Protein Interactions ◽

Px Domain ◽

Protein Partitioning ◽

Membrane Fusion Proteins ◽

Rab Effector

Membrane microdomains are assembled by lipid partitioning (e.g., rafts) or by protein–protein interactions (e.g., coated vesicles). During docking, yeast vacuoles assemble “vertex” ring-shaped microdomains around the periphery of their apposed membranes. Vertices are selectively enriched in the Rab GTPase Ypt7p, the homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting complex (HOPS)–VpsC Rab effector complex, SNAREs, and actin. Membrane fusion initiates at vertex microdomains. We now find that the “regulatory lipids” ergosterol, diacylglycerol and 3- and 4-phosphoinositides accumulate at vertices in a mutually interdependent manner. Regulatory lipids are also required for the vertex enrichment of SNAREs, Ypt7p, and HOPS. Conversely, SNAREs and actin regulate phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate vertex enrichment. Though the PX domain of the SNARE Vam7p has direct affinity for only 3-phosphoinositides, all the regulatory lipids which are needed for vertex assembly affect Vam7p association with vacuoles. Thus, the assembly of the vacuole vertex ring microdomain arises from interdependent lipid and protein partitioning and binding rather than either lipid partitioning or protein interactions alone.

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