Yong Ku Cho

All-optical electrophysiology in mammalian neurons using engineered microbial rhodopsins

All-optical electrophysiology—spatially resolved simultaneous optical perturbation and measurement of membrane voltage—would open new vistas in neuroscience research. We evolved two archaerhodopsin-based voltage indicators, QuasAr1 and QuasAr2, which show improved brightness and voltage sensitivity, have microsecond response times and produce no photocurrent. We engineered a channelrhodopsin actuator, CheRiff, which shows high light sensitivity and rapid kinetics and is spectrally orthogonal to the QuasArs. A coexpression vector, Optopatch, enabled cross-talk–free genetically targeted all-optical electrophysiology. In cultured rat neurons, we combined Optopatch with patterned optical excitation to probe back-propagating action potentials (APs) in dendritic spines, synaptic transmission, subcellular microsecond-timescale details of AP propagation, and simultaneous firing of many neurons in a network. Optopatch measurements revealed homeostatic tuning of intrinsic excitability in human stem cell–derived neurons. In rat brain slices, Optopatch induced and reported APs and subthreshold events with high signal-to-noise ratios. The Optopatch platform enables high-throughput, spatially resolved electrophysiology without the use of conventional electrodes.

A Decade of Yeast Surface Display Technology: Where Are We Now?

Yeast surface display has become an increasingly popular tool for protein engineering and library screening applications. Recent advances have greatly expanded the capability of yeast surface display, and are highlighted by cell-based selections, epitope mapping, cDNA library screening, and cell adhesion engineering. In this review, we discuss the state-of-the-art yeast display methodologies and the rapidly expanding set of applications afforded by this technology.

Mining a yeast library for brain endothelial cell-binding antibodies.

We describe the use of yeast surface display for the identification of antibodies that bind the plasma membranes of living cells. Yeast panning with a nonimmune human single-chain antibody library identified 34 unique lead antibodies that bind (Kd = 82 ± 15 nM) and in some cases internalize into rat brain endothelial cells. In addition, we used a new yeast display immunoprecipitation procedure for initial characterization of the cognate antigens.

Development of GFP-based biosensors possessing the binding properties of antibodies.

Proteins that can bind specifically to targets that also have an intrinsic property allowing for easy detection could facilitate a multitude of applications. While the widely used green fluorescent protein (GFP) allows for easy detection, attempts to insert multiple binding loops into GFP to impart affinity for a specific target have been met with limited success because of the structural sensitivity of the GFP chromophore. In this study, directed evolution using a surrogate loop approach and yeast surface display yielded a family of GFP scaffolds capable of accommodating 2 proximal, randomized binding loops. The library of potential GFP-based binders or ″GFAbs″ was subsequently mined for GFAbs capable of binding to protein targets. Identified GFAbs bound with nanomolar affinity and required binding contributions from both loops indicating the advantage of a dual loop GFAb platform. Finally, GFAbs were solubly produced and used as fluorescence detection reagents to demonstrate their utility.

Natural photoreceptors and their application to synthetic biology

The ability to perturb living systems is essential to understand how cells sense, integrate, and exchange information, to comprehend how pathologic changes in these processes relate to disease, and to provide insights into therapeutic points of intervention. Several molecular technologies based on natural photoreceptor systems have been pioneered that allow distinct cellular signaling pathways to be modulated with light in a temporally and spatially precise manner. In this review, we describe and discuss the underlying design principles of natural photoreceptors that have emerged as fundamental for the rational design and implementation of synthetic light-controlled signaling systems. Furthermore, we examine the unique challenges that synthetic protein technologies face when applied to the study of neural dynamics at the cellular and network level.

Cells and cell lysates: a direct approach for engineering antibodies against membrane proteins using yeast surface display.

Membrane proteins (MPs) are often desirable targets for antibody engineering. However, the majority of antibody engineering platforms depend implicitly on aqueous solubility of the target antigen which is often problematic for MPs. Recombinant, soluble forms of MPs have been successfully employed as antigen sources for antibody engineering, but heterologous expression and purification of soluble MP fragments remains a challenging and time-consuming process. Here we present a more direct approach to aid in the engineering of antibodies to MPs. By combining yeast surface display technology directly with whole cells or detergent-solubilized whole-cell lysates, antibody libraries can be screened against MP antigens in their near-native conformations. We also describe how the platform can be adapted for antibody characterization and antigen identification. This collection of compatible methods serves as a basis for antibody engineering against MPs and it is predicted that these methods will mature in parallel with developments in membrane protein biochemistry and solubilization technology.

A Yeast Display Immunoprecipitation Method for Efficient Isolation and Characterization of Antigens

Yeast antibody display has found a wide variety of applications including antibody affinity maturation, epitope mapping, and library screening. Here we report a yeast display immunoprecipitation (YDIP) technique that employs yeast cells displaying single-chain antibody fragments (scFv) on their surface as affinity capture reagents to isolate and characterize antigens. We show that displayed single-chain antibody fragments are active in a variety of detergent solutions commonly used for immunoprecipitation and that the antigen-antibody interaction can be accurately quantified by YDIP coupled with flow cytometry. The YDIP method has also been optimized so that it is compatible with commonly used protein characterization tools such as Western blotting, silver staining, and mass spectrometry. From complex protein mixtures, we have used YDIP to isolate, analyze and sequence both soluble and plasma membrane antigens using tandem mass spectrometry. In the case of the membrane antigen, YDIP coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was successful in identifying neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) as the antigen for an antibody previously selected as binding to the plasma membranes of brain endothelial cells. The presented method therefore has potential to facilitate antibody-antigen characterization.

Antibody library screens using detergent-solubilized mammalian cell lysates as antigen sources

High-throughput generation of antibodies against cellular components is currently a challenge in proteomics, therapeutic development and other biological applications. It is particularly challenging to raise antibodies that target membrane proteins due to their insolubility in aqueous solutions. To address these issues, a yeast display library of human single-chain antibody fragments (scFvs) was efficiently screened directly against detergent-solubilized and biotinylated lysates of a target cell line, thereby avoiding issues with membrane protein insolubility and eliminating the need for heterologous expression or purification of antigens. Antibody clones that specifically bind plasma membrane proteins or intracellular proteins were identified, depending on the biotinylation method applied. Antibodies against a predetermined target could also be identified using cell lysate as an antigen source as demonstrated by selecting an scFv against the transferrin receptor (TfR). When secreted from yeast and purified, the selected scFvs are active under physiological conditions in the absence of detergents. In addition, this method allows facile characterization of target antigens because it is compatible with yeast display immunoprecipitation. We expect that this method will prove useful for multiplex affinity reagent generation and in targeted antibody screens.

Utilizing stem cells for three-dimensional neural tissue engineering

Three-dimensional neural tissue engineering has made great strides in developing neural disease models and replacement tissues for patients. However, the need for biomimetic tissue models and effective patient therapies remains unmet. The recent push to expand 2D neural tissue engineering into the third dimension shows great potential to advance the field. Another area which has much to offer to neural tissue engineering is stem cell research. Stem cells are well known for their self-renewal and differentiation potential and have been shown to give rise to tissues with structural and functional properties mimicking natural organs. Application of these capabilities to 3D neural tissue engineering may be highly useful for basic research on neural tissue structure and function, engineering disease models, designing tissues for drug development, and generating replacement tissues with a patients genetic makeup. Here, we discuss the vast potential, as well as the current challenges, unique to integration of 3D fabrication strategies and stem cells into neural tissue engineering. We also present some of the most significant recent achievements, including nerve guidance conduits to facilitate better healing of nerve injuries, functional 3D biomimetic neural tissue models, physiologically relevant disease models for research purposes, and rapid and effective screening of potential drugs.

Pore-scale water dynamics during drying and the impacts of structure and surface wettability

Plants and microbes secrete mucilage into soil during dry conditions, which can alter soil structure and increase contact angle. Structured soils exhibit a broad pore size distribution with many small and many large pores, and strong capillary forces in narrow pores can retain moisture in soil aggregates. Meanwhile, contact angle determines the water repellency of soils, which can result in suppressed evaporation rates. Although they are often studied independently, both structure and contact angle influence water movement, distribution, and retention in soils. Here, drying experiments were conducted using soil micromodels patterned to emulate different aggregation states of a sandy loam soil. Micromodels were treated to exhibit contact angles representative of those in bulk soil (8.4° ± 1.9°) and the rhizosphere (65° ± 9.2°). Drying was simulated using a lattice Boltzmann single component, multi-phase model. In our experiments, micromodels with higher contact angle surfaces took four times longer to completely dry versus micromodels with lower contact angle surfaces. Microstructure influenced drying rate as a function of saturation and controlled the spatial distribution of moisture within micromodels. Lattice Boltzmann simulations accurately predicted pore scale moisture retention patterns within micromodels with different structures and contact angles.