基于光激活定位显微镜的膜蛋白鉴定技术

Membrane protein characterization by photoactivatable localization microscopy

摘要:

病原菌膜蛋白的原位标记和定位追踪是一项非常繁琐的工作。为了建立一种可以用于快速鉴定膜蛋白、且分辨率达到纳米级别的膜蛋白荧光定位技术，将结核分枝杆菌外膜蛋白OmpA与具有光敏活性的蛋白mEos2m在无致病性的耻垢分枝杆菌中进行融合表达。重组菌固定在载玻片上后，利用405 nm激光激活mEos2m。利用普通荧光体视显微镜、正置荧光显微镜和超分辨率光激活定位显微镜观察OmpA-mEos2m，分析融合蛋白在细菌内的分布情况，并捕获光激活蛋白在细胞膜上释放的光子信号。通过超分辨率光激活定位显微镜，发现OmpA-mEos2m融合蛋白在细胞膜上呈“带”状环绕分布，这是观察到膜蛋白在细胞膜上定位的最直接证据。mEos2m与OmpA融合表达后，并不改变OmpA的膜蛋白属性和定位特征。因此可以将mEos2m用于其他非多聚体膜蛋白的融合和定位研究。可以应用非致病性的耻垢分枝杆菌作为模型，采用高分辨率活菌成像技术，研究致病性的结核分枝杆菌蛋白结构、定位和功能。这是目前为止国内采用光激活定位显微成像技术研究膜蛋白的首次报道。

Abstract:

The on-site labeling and localization tracking of membrane proteins in pathogenic bacteria are tedious work. In order to develop a novel protein labeling technology at super resolution level (nanometer scale) using the photoactivatable localization microscopy (PALM), the chimeric protein of the outer membrane protein A (OmpA) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the photoactivatable mEos2m protein were expressed in the non-pathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis. The recombinant bacteria were fixed on slide, activated by 405 nm laser and subject to PALM imaging to capture photons released by the fusion protein. Meanwhile, colony and cell morphology were visualized under regular fluorescent stereomicroscope and upright fluorescent microscope to characterize fluorescence conversion and protein localization. The fusion proteins formed a “belt”-like structure on cell membrane of M. smegmatis under PALM, providing direct evidence of on-site imaging of membrane proteins. Expression of fusion protein did not compromise the localization properties of OmpA. Thus, mEos2m could be used as a labeling probe to track localizations of non-oligomer oriented membrane proteins. This indicates non-pathogenic M. smegmatis could be served as a model strain to characterize the function and localization of the proteins derived from pathogenic M. tuberculosis. This is the first report using PALM to characterize localization of membrane proteins.