Valerica Raicu

Correction of electrode polarization contributions to the dielectric properties of normal and cancerous breast tissues at audio/radiofrequencies

Spurious contributions from electrode polarization (EP) are a major nuisance in dielectric measurements of biological tissues and hamper accurate determination of tissue properties in the audio/radiofrequencies. Various electrode geometries and/or treatments have been employed traditionally to reduce EP contributions, although none succeeded to completely remove EP from measurements on tissues for all practical frequency ranges. A method of correction for contributions of EP to the dielectric properties of tissues is proposed. The method is based on modeling the electrode impedance with suitable functions and on the observation that certain parameters are only dependent on electrodes properties and can thus be determined separately. The method is tested on various samples with known properties, and its usefulness is demonstrated with samples of normal and cancerous human female breast tissue. It is observed that the dielectric properties of the tissues over the frequency range 40 Hz-100 MHz are significantly different among different types of breast tissue. This observation is used further to demonstrate that, by scanning the tip of the measuring dielectric probe (with modest spatial resolution) across a sample of excised breast tissue, significant variations in the electrical properties are detected at a position where a tumor is located. This study shows that dielectric spectroscopy has the potential to offer a viable alternative to the current methods for detection of breast cancer in vivo.

Two SERK Receptor-Like Kinases Interact with EMS1 to Control Anther Cell Fate Determination

The Leu-rich repeat receptor-like kinases SERK1 and SERK2 affect anther cell differentiation as a partners of EMS1 in Arabidopsis. Cell signaling pathways mediated by leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs) are essential for plant growth, development, and defense. The EMS1 (EXCESS MICROSPOROCYTES1) LRR-RLK and its small protein ligand TPD1 (TAPETUM DETERMINANT1) play a fundamental role in somatic and reproductive cell differentiation during early anther development in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). However, it is unclear whether other cell surface molecules serve as coregulators of EMS1. Here, we show that SERK1 (SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE1) and SERK2 LRR-RLKs act redundantly as coregulatory and physical partners of EMS1. The SERK1/2 genes function in the same genetic pathway as EMS1 in anther development. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation, Förster resonance energy transfer, and coimmunoprecipitation approaches revealed that SERK1 interacted biochemically with EMS1. Transphosphorylation of EMS1 by SERK1 enhances EMS1 kinase activity. Among 12 in vitro autophosphorylation and transphosphorylation sites identified by tandem mass spectrometry, seven of them were found to be critical for EMS1 autophosphorylation activity. Furthermore, complementation test results suggest that phosphorylation of EMS1 is required for its function in anther development. Collectively, these data provide genetic and biochemical evidence of the interaction and phosphorylation between SERK1/2 and EMS1 in anther development.

Carbonic Anhydrases Function in Anther Cell Differentiation Downstream of the Receptor-like Kinase EMS1

β-Carbonic anhydrases are posttranslationally modified by EMS1 and act as direct downstream effectors of this receptor-like kinase, highlighting their crucial role in cell differentiation. Plants extensively employ leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs), the largest family of RLKs, to control a wide range of growth and developmental processes as well as defense responses. To date, only a few direct downstream effectors for LRR-RLKs have been identified. We previously showed that the LRR-RLK EMS1 (EXCESS MICROSPOROCYTES1) and its ligand TPD1 (TAPETUM DETERMINANT1) are required for the differentiation of somatic tapetal cells and reproductive microsporocytes during early anther development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we report the identification of β-carbonic anhydrases (βCAs) as the direct downstream targets of EMS1. EMS1 biochemically interacts with βCA proteins. Loss of function of βCA genes caused defective tapetal cell differentiation, while overexpression of βCA1 led to the formation of extra tapetal cells. EMS1 phosphorylates βCA1 at four sites, resulting in increased βCA1 activity. Furthermore, phosphorylation-blocking mutations impaired the function of βCA1 in tapetal cell differentiation; however, a phosphorylation mimic mutation promoted the formation of tapetal cells. βCAs are also involved in pH regulation in tapetal cells. Our findings highlight the role of βCA in controlling cell differentiation and provide insights into the posttranslational modification of carbonic anhydrases via receptor-like kinase-mediated phosphorylation.

An Ire1–Phk1 Chimera Reveals a Dispensable Role of Autokinase Activity in Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response

The endoplasmic reticulum transmembrane receptor Ire1 senses over-accumulation of unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum and initiates the unfolded protein response (UPR). The cytoplasmic portion of Ire1 has a protein kinase domain (KD) and a kinase extension nuclease (KEN) domain that cleaves an mRNA for encoding the Hac1 transcription factor needed to express UPR genes. During this UPR signaling, Ire1 proteins self-assemble into an oligomer of dimers, which essentially requires autophosphorylation of a constituent activation loop in the KD. However, it is not clear how dimerization, autophosphorylation, and KEN domain function are precisely coordinated. In this study, we uncoupled the KD and KEN domain functions, by removing the activation loop along with an extended region that we called the auto-inhibitory region (AIR), or by swapping the activation loop with a homologous loop from phosphorylase kinase 1 (Ire1(PHK)). Both Ire1(ΔAIR) and Ire1(PHK) activated the UPR even when either protein contained a mutation (D797A) that abolished the ability of Ire1 KD to transfer phosphates to the AIR. Neither protein functioned when containing mutations in key ATP binding residues (E746A and N749A) or in residues that disrupted Ire1 dimer interface (W426A or R697D). We interpret these results as evidence supporting the notion that the primary function of the kinase domain is to autophosphorylate the AIR in order to relieve auto-inhibition and that ADP acts as a switch to activate the KEN domain-catalyzed HAC1 mRNA cleavage.

In vivo quantification of G protein coupled receptor interactions using spectrally resolved two-photon microscopy.

The study of protein interactions in living cells is an important area of research because the information accumulated both benefits industrial applications as well as increases basic fundamental biological knowledge. Förster (Fluorescence) Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) between a donor molecule in an electronically excited state and a nearby acceptor molecule has been frequently utilized for studies of protein-protein interactions in living cells. The proteins of interest are tagged with two different types of fluorescent probes and expressed in biological cells. The fluorescent probes are then excited, typically using laser light, and the spectral properties of the fluorescence emission emanating from the fluorescent probes is collected and analyzed. Information regarding the degree of the protein interactions is embedded in the spectral emission data. Typically, the cell must be scanned a number of times in order to accumulate enough spectral information to accurately quantify the extent of the protein interactions for each region of interest within the cell. However, the molecular composition of these regions may change during the course of the acquisition process, limiting the spatial determination of the quantitative values of the apparent FRET efficiencies to an average over entire cells. By means of a spectrally resolved two-photon microscope, we are able to obtain a full set of spectrally resolved images after only one complete excitation scan of the sample of interest. From this pixel-level spectral data, a map of FRET efficiencies throughout the cell is calculated. By applying a simple theory of FRET in oligomeric complexes to the experimentally obtained distribution of FRET efficiencies throughout the cell, a single spectrally resolved scan reveals stoichiometric and structural information about the oligomer complex under study. Here we describe the procedure of preparing biological cells (the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae) expressing membrane receptors (sterile 2 α-factor receptors) tagged with two different types of fluorescent probes. Furthermore, we illustrate critical factors involved in collecting fluorescence data using the spectrally resolved two-photon microscopy imaging system. The use of this protocol may be extended to study any type of protein which can be expressed in a living cell with a fluorescent marker attached to it.

Quantitative Micro-Spectroscopic Imaging Reveals Viral and Cellular RNA Helicase Interactions in Live Cells

Human cells detect RNA viruses through a set of helicases called RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs) that initiate the interferon response via a mitochondrial signaling complex. Many RNA viruses also encode helicases, which are sometimes covalently linked to proteases that cleave signaling proteins. One unresolved question is how RLRs interact with each other and with viral proteins in cells. This study examined the interactions among the hepatitis C virus (HCV) helicase and RLR helicases in live cells with quantitative microspectroscopic imaging (Q-MSI), a technique that determines FRET efficiency and subcellular donor and acceptor concentrations. HEK293T cells were transfected with various vector combinations to express cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) or YFP fused to either biologically active HCV helicase or one RLR (i.e. RIG-I, MDA5, or LGP2), expressed in the presence or absence of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)), which elicits RLR accumulation at mitochondria. Q-MSI confirmed previously reported RLR interactions and revealed an interaction between HCV helicase and LGP2. Mitochondria in CFP-RIG-I:YFP-RIG-I cells, CFP-MDA5:YFP-MDA5 cells, and CFP-MDA5:YFP-LGP2 cells had higher FRET efficiencies in the presence of poly(I:C), indicating that RNA causes these proteins to accumulate at mitochondria in higher-order complexes than those formed in the absence of poly(I:C). However, mitochondria in CFP-LGP2:YFP-LGP2 cells had lower FRET signal in the presence of poly(I:C), suggesting that LGP2 oligomers disperse so that LGP2 can bind MDA5. Data support a new model where an LGP2-MDA5 oligomer shuttles NS3 to the mitochondria to block antiviral signaling.

Advanced Microscopy Techniques

Resolution of current controversies regarding the nature and functional roles of the oligomeric forms of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) demands that experimental methods are both quantitative – i.e., they allow determination of size, geometry and stability of oligomers under varying experimental conditions – and applicable to receptors within their cellular milieu. Standard microscopy methods based on light do not provide the resolution necessary to resolve membrane receptor complexes, while techniques based on other contrast mechanisms (e.g., electron microscopy or atomic force microscopy) require sample destruction and fixation. Fortunately, techniques that exploit physical properties of fluorescent molecules, such as their ability to transfer excitations to an unexcited nearby fluorescent molecule (as in FRET spectrometry) and spatial or temporal fluctuations in the fluorescence intensity (fluorescence correlation spectroscopies and photon counting histograms) driven by aggregation and diffusion are capable of increasing the spatial and temporal resolution of all optical microscopies by several orders of magnitude. In this chapter, we overview the physical principles underlying such techniques, their comparative advantages and limitations, as well as their application to quantitative analysis of GPCR oligomerization in living cells.

In vivo stoichiometry monitoring of G protein coupled receptor oligomers using spectrally resolved two-photon microscopy

Resonance Energy Transfer (RET) between a donor molecule in an electronically excited state and an acceptor molecule in close proximity has been frequently utilized for studies of protein-protein interactions in living cells. Typically, the cell under study is scanned a number of times in order to accumulate enough spectral information to accurately determine the RET efficiency for each region of interest within the cell. However, the composition of these regions may change during the course of the acquisition period, limiting the spatial determination of the RET efficiency to an average over entire cells. By means of a novel spectrally resolved two-photon microscope, we were able to obtain a full set of spectrally resolved images after only one complete excitation scan of the sample of interest. From this pixel-level spectral data, a map of RET efficiencies throughout the cell is calculated. By applying a simple theory of RET in oligomeric complexes to the experimentally obtained distribution of RET efficiencies throughout the cell, a single spectrally resolved scan reveals stoichiometric and structural information about the oligomer complex under study. This presentation will describe our experimental setup and data analysis procedure, as well as an application of the method to the determination of RET efficiencies throughout yeast cells (S. cerevisiae) expressing a G-protein-coupled receptor, Sterile 2 α factor protein (Ste2p), in the presence and absence of α-factor - a yeast mating pheromone.

Implementation of a fast reconfigurable array for tissue impedance characterization

Various tissue properties have been used in the past and present as metrics which can serve to discriminate healthy from diseased tissue. Electromagnetic absorption (of x-rays and optical signals), scattering of near-infrared light, and electrical impedance are a few such parameters. In order to serve as discriminants for diseased (e.g., neoplastic) tissue, the characteristics of these tissues must first be precisely determined. In this paper, we consider the electrical impedance properties of tissues and cell aggregates, and present the design of a reconfigurable electrode array which is capable of providing a well-defined electromagnetic interface to the tissue under study, for characterization in the 0.01–30 MHz range. The configuration of array elements may be easily changed under digital control, allowing for various electromagnetic field configurations to be applied to the tissue under study. The array is designed to interface to four-point as well as two-point impedance instrumentation, and may be used for two-dimensional bioimaging systems based on electrical impedances. The design may be scaled to higher frequencies and smaller dimensions, allowing for studies of electrical properties at the cellular level.

Microspectroscopic method for determination of size and distribution of protein complexes in vivo

Resonant Energy Transfer (RET) from an optically excited molecule to a non-excited molecule residing nearby has been used to detect molecular interactions in living cells. Information such as the number of proteins forming a molecular complex has been obtained so far for a handful of proteins, but only after exposing the samples sequentially to at least two different excitation wavelengths. Changes in the molecular makeup of a cellular region occurring during this lengthy process of measurement has limited the applicability of RET to determination of cellular averages. We developed a method for imaging protein complex distribution in living cells with sub-cellular spatial resolution, which relies on a spectrally-resolved two-photon microscope. The use of diffractive optics in a non-descanned configuration allows acquisition of a full set of spectrally-resolved images after only one complete scan of the excitation beam. This presentation will briefly describe our basic experimental setup and a simple theory of RET in oligomeric complexes, and it will review our recent results on determination of the geometry and size of oligomeric complexes of several proteins in yeast as well as in mammalian cells. This method basically transforms RET into a method for performing veritable structural determinations of protein complexes in vivo.