Yunxiang Zhang

Subnanometre single-molecule localization, registration and distance measurements

Remarkable progress in optical microscopy has been made in the measurement of nanometre distances. If diffraction blurs the image of a point object into an Airy disk with a root-mean-squared (r.m.s.) size of s =  0.44λ/2NA (∼90 nm for light with a wavelength of λ = 600 nm and an objective lens with a numerical aperture of NA = 1.49), limiting the resolution of the far-field microscope in use to d = 2.4s ≈ 200 nm, additional knowledge about the specimen can be used to great advantage. For example, if the source is known to be two spatially resolved fluorescent molecules, the distance between them is given by the separation of the centres of the two fluorescence images. In high-resolution microwave and optical spectroscopy, there are numerous examples where the line centre is determined with a precision of less than 10−6 of the linewidth. In contrast, in biological applications the brightest single fluorescent emitters can be detected with a signal-to-noise ratio of ∼100, limiting the centroid localization precision to sloc ≥ 1% (≥1 nm) of the r.m.s. size, s, of the microscope point spread function (PSF). Moreover, the error in co-localizing two or more single emitters is notably worse, remaining greater than 5–10% (5–10 nm) of the PSF size. Here we report a distance resolution of sreg = 0.50 nm (1σ) and an absolute accuracy of sdistance = 0.77 nm (1σ) in a measurement of the separation between differently coloured fluorescent molecules using conventional far-field fluorescence imaging in physiological buffer conditions. The statistical uncertainty in the mean for an ensemble of identical single-molecule samples is limited only by the total number of collected photons, to sloc ≈ 0.3 nm, which is ∼3 × 10−3 times the size of the optical PSF. Our method may also be used to improve the resolution of many subwavelength, far-field imaging methods such as those based on co-localization of molecules that are stochastically switched on in space. The improved resolution will allow the structure of large, multisubunit biological complexes in biologically relevant environments to be deciphered at the single-molecule level.

Resolving cadherin interactions and binding cooperativity at the single-molecule level

The cadherin family of Ca2+-dependent cell adhesion proteins are critical for the morphogenesis and functional organization of tissues in multicellular organisms, but the molecular interactions between cadherins that are at the core of cell–cell adhesion are a matter of considerable debate. A widely-accepted model is that cadherins adhere in 3 stages. First, the functional unit of cadherin adhesion is a cis dimer formed by the binding of the extracellular regions of 2 cadherins on the same cell surface. Second, formation of low-affinity trans interactions between cadherin cis dimers on opposing cell surfaces initiates cell–cell adhesion. Third, lateral clustering of cadherins cooperatively strengthens intercellular adhesion. Evidence of these cadherin binding states during adhesion is, however, contradictory, and evidence for cooperativity is lacking. We used single-molecule structural (fluorescence resonance energy transfer) and functional (atomic force microscopy) assays to demonstrate directly that cadherin monomers interact via their N-terminal EC1 domain to form trans adhesive complexes. We could not detect the formation of cadherin cis dimers, but found that increasing the density of cadherin monomers cooperatively increased the probability of trans adhesive binding.

In vitro system capable of differentiating fast Ca2+-triggered content mixing from lipid exchange for mechanistic studies of neurotransmitter release

Understanding the molecular principles of synaptic vesicle fusion is a long-sought goal. It requires the development of a synthetic system that allows manipulations and observations not possible in vivo. Here, we report an in vitro system with reconstituted synaptic proteins that meets the long-sought goal to produce fast content release in the millisecond time regime upon Ca2+ triggering. Our system simultaneously monitors both content and lipid exchange, and it starts from stable interacting pairs of donor and acceptor vesicles, mimicking the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles prior to an action potential. It differentiates between single-vesicle interaction, hemifusion, and complete fusion, the latter mimicking quantized neurotransmitter release upon exocytosis of synaptic vesicles. Prior to Ca2+ injection, the system is in a state in which spontaneous fusion events between donor and acceptor vesicles are rare. Upon Ca2+ injection, a rapid burst of complete fusion events emerges, followed by a biphasic decay. The present study focuses on neuronal SNAREs, the Ca2+ sensor synaptotagmin 1, and the modulator complexin. However, other synaptic proteins could be added and their function examined. Ca2+ triggering is cooperative, requiring the presence of synaptotagmin, whereas SNAREs alone do not produce a fast fusion burst. Manipulations of the system mimic effects observed in vivo. These results also show that neuronal SNAREs alone do not efficiently produce complete fusion, that the combination of SNAREs with synaptotagmin lowers the activation barriers to full fusion, and that complexin enhances this kinetic control.

Synaptic proteins promote calcium-triggered fast transition from point contact to full fusion.

The molecular underpinnings of synaptic vesicle fusion for fast neurotransmitter release are still unclear. Here, we used a single vesicle–vesicle system with reconstituted SNARE and synaptotagmin-1 proteoliposomes to decipher the temporal sequence of membrane states upon Ca2+-injection at 250–500 μM on a 100-ms timescale. Furthermore, detailed membrane morphologies were imaged with cryo-electron microscopy before and after Ca2+-injection. We discovered a heterogeneous network of immediate and delayed fusion pathways. Remarkably, all instances of Ca2+-triggered immediate fusion started from a membrane–membrane point-contact and proceeded to complete fusion without discernible hemifusion intermediates. In contrast, pathways that involved a stable hemifusion diaphragm only resulted in fusion after many seconds, if at all. When complexin was included, the Ca2+-triggered fusion network shifted towards the immediate pathway, effectively synchronizing fusion, especially at lower Ca2+-concentration. Synaptic proteins may have evolved to select this immediate pathway out of a heterogeneous network of possible membrane fusion pathways. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00109.001

Ideal, catch, and slip bonds in cadherin adhesion

Classical cadherin cell-cell adhesion proteins play key morphogenetic roles during development and are essential for maintaining tissue integrity in multicellular organisms. Classical cadherins bind in two distinct conformations, X-dimer and strand-swap dimer; during cellular rearrangements, these adhesive states are exposed to mechanical stress. However, the molecular mechanisms by which cadherins resist tensile force and the pathway by which they convert between different conformations are unclear. Here, we use single molecule force measurements with an atomic force microscope (AFM) to show that E-cadherin, a prototypical classical cadherin, forms three types of adhesive bonds: catch bonds, which become longer lived in the presence of tensile force; slip bonds, which become shorter lived when pulled; and ideal bonds that are insensitive to mechanical stress. We show that X-dimers form catch bonds, whereas strand-swap dimers form slip bonds. Our data suggests that ideal bonds are formed as X-dimers convert to strand-swap binding. Catch, slip, and ideal bonds allow cadherins to withstand tensile force and tune the mechanical properties of adhesive junctions.

Studying calcium-triggered vesicle fusion in a single vesicle-vesicle content and lipid-mixing system

This protocol describes a single vesicle-vesicle microscopy system to study Ca2+-triggered vesicle fusion. Donor vesicles contain reconstituted synaptobrevin and synaptotagmin-1. Acceptor vesicles contain reconstituted syntaxin and synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25), and they are tethered to a PEG-coated glass surface. Donor vesicles are mixed with the tethered acceptor vesicles and incubated for several minutes at a zero-Ca2+ concentration, resulting in a collection of single interacting vesicle pairs. The donor vesicles also contain two spectrally distinct fluorophores that allow simultaneous monitoring of temporal changes of the content and membrane. Upon Ca2+ injection into the sample chamber, our system therefore differentiates between hemifusion and complete fusion of interacting vesicle pairs and determines the temporal sequence of these events on a sub-100-millisecond time scale. Other factors such as complexin can be easily added. Our system is unique in that it monitors both content and lipid mixing and starts from a metastable state of interacting vesicle pairs before Ca2+ injection.

Ultrahigh-resolution imaging reveals formation of neuronal SNARE/Munc18 complexes in situ

Significance Synaptic vesicle fusion is catalyzed by multiprotein complexes that bring two lipid bilayers into close opposition. Several assembly mechanisms have been proposed for the synaptic vesicle fusion machinery, but exactly how these proteins interact in vivo remains unclear. We developed two-color fluorescence nanoscopy to directly visualize molecular interactions in situ and discovered that syntaxin-1, SNAP-25, and Munc18-1 (mammalian uncoordinated-18), three essential components for neurotransmission, closely colocalize on the plasma membrane, suggesting possible pathways for SNARE-mediated membrane fusion. Our superresolution method provides a framework for delineating the molecular underpinnings of the synaptic vesicle fusion machinery. Membrane fusion is mediated by complexes formed by SNAP-receptor (SNARE) and Secretory 1 (Sec1)/mammalian uncoordinated-18 (Munc18)-like (SM) proteins, but it is unclear when and how these complexes assemble. Here we describe an improved two-color fluorescence nanoscopy technique that can achieve effective resolutions of up to 7.5-nm full width at half maximum (3.2-nm localization precision), limited only by stochastic photon emission from single molecules. We use this technique to dissect the spatial relationships between the neuronal SM protein Munc18-1 and SNARE proteins syntaxin-1 and SNAP-25 (25 kDa synaptosome-associated protein). Strikingly, we observed nanoscale clusters consisting of syntaxin-1 and SNAP-25 that contained associated Munc18-1. Rescue experiments with syntaxin-1 mutants revealed that Munc18-1 recruitment to the plasma membrane depends on the Munc18-1 binding to the N-terminal peptide of syntaxin-1. Our results suggest that in a primary neuron, SNARE/SM protein complexes containing syntaxin-1, SNAP-25, and Munc18-1 are preassembled in microdomains on the presynaptic plasma membrane. Our superresolution imaging method provides a framework for investigating interactions between the synaptic vesicle fusion machinery and other subcellular systems in situ.

Complexin inhibits spontaneous release and synchronizes Ca2+-triggered synaptic vesicle fusion by distinct mechanisms

Previously we showed that fast Ca2+-triggered vesicle fusion with reconstituted neuronal SNAREs and synaptotagmin-1 begins from an initial hemifusion-free membrane point contact, rather than a hemifusion diaphragm, using a single vesicle–vesicle lipid/content mixing assay (Diao et al., 2012). When complexin-1 was included, a more pronounced Ca2+-triggered fusion burst was observed, effectively synchronizing the process. Here we show that complexin-1 also reduces spontaneous fusion in the same assay. Moreover, distinct effects of several complexin-1 truncation mutants on spontaneous and Ca2+-triggered fusion closely mimic those observed in neuronal cultures. The very N-terminal domain is essential for synchronization of Ca2+-triggered fusion, but not for suppression of spontaneous fusion, whereas the opposite is true for the C-terminal domain. By systematically varying the complexin-1 concentration, we observed differences in titration behavior for spontaneous and Ca2+-triggered fusion. Taken together, complexin-1 utilizes distinct mechanisms for synchronization of Ca2+-triggered fusion and inhibition of spontaneous fusion. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03756.001

Complexin‑1 Enhances the On-Rate of Vesicle Docking via Simultaneous SNARE and Membrane Interactions

In synaptic terminals, complexin is thought to have inhibitory and activating roles for spontaneous “mini” release and evoked synchronized neurotransmitter release, respectively. We used single vesicle–vesicle microscopy imaging to study the effect of complexin-1 on the on-rate of docking between vesicles that mimic synaptic vesicles and the plasma membrane. We found that complexin-1 enhances the on-rate of docking of synaptic vesicle mimics containing full-length synaptobrevin-2 and full-length synaptotagmin-1 to plasma membrane-mimicking vesicles containing full-length syntaxin-1A and SNAP-25A. This effect requires the C-terminal domain of complexin-1, which binds to the membrane, the presence of PS in the membrane, and the core region of complexin-1, which binds to the SNARE complex.

N-terminal domain of complexin independently activates calcium-triggered fusion

Significance Synaptic neurotransmitter release is an essential process for communication between neurons. Neurotransmitter release occurs upon an action potential, resulting in a local Ca2+-concentration increase in the presynaptic terminal that triggers synaptic vesicle membrane fusion with the plasma membrane. Synaptic vesicle fusion is orchestrated by neuronal soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs), synaptotagmin, complexin, and other factors. Here, we found that the complexin N-terminal domain binds to membranes and that it can be substituted with the fusion peptide of influenza virus hemagglutinin, resulting in similar activation of Ca2+-triggered fusion as wild-type complexin in a reconstituted vesicle fusion system. We conclude that similar fusion elements and principles are used in different contexts of biological membrane fusion. Complexin activates Ca2+-triggered neurotransmitter release and regulates spontaneous release in the presynaptic terminal by cooperating with the neuronal soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) and the Ca2+-sensor synaptotagmin. The N-terminal domain of complexin is important for activation, but its molecular mechanism is still poorly understood. Here, we observed that a split pair of N-terminal and central domain fragments of complexin is sufficient to activate Ca2+-triggered release using a reconstituted single-vesicle fusion assay, suggesting that the N-terminal domain acts as an independent module within the synaptic fusion machinery. The N-terminal domain can also interact independently with membranes, which is enhanced by a cooperative interaction with the neuronal SNARE complex. We show by mutagenesis that membrane binding of the N-terminal domain is essential for activation of Ca2+-triggered fusion. Consistent with the membrane-binding property, the N-terminal domain can be substituted by the influenza virus hemagglutinin fusion peptide, and this chimera also activates Ca2+-triggered fusion. Membrane binding of the N-terminal domain of complexin therefore cooperates with the other fusogenic elements of the synaptic fusion machinery during Ca2+-triggered release.