Patent Application
20090017516
The present invention relates to a target physiological function inactivator using generation of reactive oxygen species via fluorescence resonance energy transfer from a fluorescent protein to a photosensitizer. Moreover, the present invention relates to a split fluorescent protein that is labeled with a photosensitizer, and a method of inactivating a target physiological function using the structure-function complementarity of the above protein.
Green fluorescent protein (GFP) derived from Aequorea victoria, a jellyfish, has many purposes in biological systems. Recently, various GFP mutants have been produced based on the random mutagenesis and semi-rational mutagenesis, wherein a color is changed, a folding property is improved, luminance is enhanced, or pH sensitivity is modified. Fluorescent proteins such as GFP are fused with other proteins by gene recombinant technique, and monitoring of the expression and transportation of the fusion proteins is carried out.
One of the most commonly used types of GFP mutant is Yellow fluorescent protein (YFP). Among Aequorea-derived GFP mutants, YFP exhibits the fluorescence with the longest wavelength. The values ε and Φ of the majority of YEPs are 60,000 to 100,000 M−1cm−1 and 0.6 to 0.8, respectively (Tsien, R. Y. (1998). Ann. Rev. Biochem. 67, 509-544). These values are comparable to those of the general fluorescent group (fluorescein, rhodamine, etc.). Moreover, Cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) is another example of GFP mutants. Among such Cyan fluorescent proteins, ECFP (enhanced cyan fluorescent protein) has been known. Furthermore, Red fluorescent protein (RFP) has been isolated from sea anemone (Discoma sp.), and among such red fluorescent proteins, DasRed has been known. Thus, 4 types of fluorescent proteins including green, yellow, cyan and red fluorescent proteins, have been developed one after another, and their spectrum range has been significantly extended.
In order to analyze the function of a biomolecule, a method of biochemically inactivating the molecular function is effective. That is to say, the function of a target molecule is inhibited, and the thus inhibited target molecule is compared with a case where the above molecule normally functions, so as to analyze in detail the function of the target molecule. However, it has been known that the functions of biomolecules are not always uniform in a cell, but that a specific biomolecule efficiently exhibits its function at a specific local site in the cell. Accordingly, when a target molecule functions under a specific communication, by inactivating such a function of the target molecule at the site where it functions, the function of the target molecule in a living cell can be clarified. As a method of inactivating a target molecule in a temporally and spatially controlled manner, a method of laser inactivation of molecules (chromophore-assisted laser inactivation; CALI) is described in Daniel G. Jay, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 85, pp. 5454-5458, 1988, for example. However, it has also been difficult for this method to efficiently inactivate a target molecule in a living cell in a temporally and spatially controlled manner.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of generating reactive oxygen species in a light irradiation-dependent manner, so as to inactivate any given target substance (target physiological function).
As a result of intensive studies directed towards achieving the aforementioned object, the present inventors have found that excitation light for fluorescent protein is applied to a photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer from the fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer is thereby allowed to occur, so that the photosensitizer can be excited to generate reactive oxygen species. Moreover, the present inventors have also found that the C-terminal fragment of the photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein is introduced into a cell that expresses any given target protein genetically ligated to the N-terminal fragment of the fluorescent protein, so that the structure of the fluorescent protein is reconstituted in the cell, and thereafter, fluorescence resonance energy transfer from the reconstituted fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer is utilized to generate reactive oxygen species from the photosensitizer, thereby inactivating any given target protein. The present invention has been completed based on such findings.
That is to say, the present invention provides a target physiological function inactivator which consists of a photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein, wherein fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer occurs as a result of light irradiation, so that the photosensitizer can be excited to generate reactive oxygen species.
Preferably, at least a portion of the fluorescence spectrum of the fluorescent protein is overlapped with a portion of the absorption spectrum of the photosensitizer.
Preferably, the fluorescent protein is a GFP mutant.
Preferably, the fluorescent protein is a CFP mutant or an EGFP mutant.
Preferably, the fluorescent protein is: a fluorescent protein produced by substituting serine at position 72 with alanine, serine at position 175 with glycine, and alanine at position 206 with lysine, of ECFP; or a fluorescent protein produced by substituting threonine at position 203 with isoleucine of EGFP.
Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer occurs at an efficiency of preferably 80% or more, and more preferably 90% or more.
Preferably, the photosensitizers bind to amino acid residues corresponding to the amino acid residue at position 6 and/or the amino acid residue at position 229 of CFP.
Preferably, the photosensitizer is eosin.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of generating reactive oxygen species in a light irradiation-dependent manner, using the aforementioned target physiological function inactivator of the present invention, so as to inactivate a target physiological function.
Preferably, inactivation of the target physiological function is inactivation of a protein.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of inactivating a target physiological function, which comprises: a step of introducing into a cell that expresses a fused protein consisting of either the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of a fluorescent protein and any given protein, a labeled protein produced by labeling the other fragment of the fluorescent protein with a photosensitizer, so as to reconstitute a fluorescent protein in the cell; and a step of applying light to said reconstituted fluorescent protein, so as to cause fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer, thereby exciting the photosensitizer to generate reactive oxygen species.
Preferably, at least a portion of the fluorescence spectrum of the fluorescent protein is overlapped with a portion of the absorption spectrum of the photosensitizer.
Preferably, the fluorescent protein is CFP or a mutant thereof.
Preferably, the photosensitizer is eosin.
Preferably, either one amino acid sequence of two types of amino acid sequences that interact with each other is further fused with the fused protein consisting of either the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of the fluorescent protein and any given protein, and the other amino acid sequence of the above two types of amino acid sequences that interact with each other is further fused with the labeled protein produced by labeling the other fragment of the fluorescent protein with the photosensitizer.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a kit for carrying out the aforementioned method of inactivating a target physiological function of the present invention, which comprises either the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of a fluorescent protein or a gene encoding thereof, and a labeled protein produced by labeling the other fragment of the fluorescent protein with a photosensitizer.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a kit for carrying out the aforementioned method of inactivating a target physiological function of the present invention, which comprises a cell that expresses a fused protein consisting of either the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of a fluorescent protein and any given protein, and a labeled protein produced by labeling the other fragment of the fluorescent protein with a photosensitizer.
The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.
(1) Target Physiological Function Inactivator Using Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species Via Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer from Fluorescent Protein to Photosensitizer
In a first embodiment, the present invention relates to a target physiological function inactivator which consists of a photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein, wherein fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer occurs as a result of light irradiation, so that the photosensitizer can be excited to generate reactive oxygen species.
The outline of the method of the present invention is shown in
As a fluorescent protein used in the present invention, any type of protein can be used, as long as it is able to emit fluorescence as a result of irradiation with excitation light, and it allows a photosensitizer as described later to cause fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The fluorescent protein used in the present invention acts as a donor fluorescent protein in the aforementioned fluorescence resonance energy transfer.
Examples of a fluorescent protein that can be used in the present invention include a cyan fluorescent protein (CFP), a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP), a green fluorescent protein (GFP), a red fluorescent protein (RFP), a blue fluorescent protein (BFP), and a mutant thereof.
The expression “a cyan fluorescent protein, a yellow fluorescent protein, a green fluorescent protein, a red fluorescent protein, a blue fluorescent protein, or a mutant thereof” is used in the present specification not only to mean known fluorescent proteins, but also to include all the mutants thereof (e.g. ECFP, EYFP, EGFP, ERFP, EBFP, etc. obtained by enhancing the fluorescence intensity of each of the aforementioned fluorescent proteins). For example, the gene of such a green fluorescent protein has been isolated and sequenced (Prasher, D. C. et al. (1992), “Primary structure of the Aequorea victoria green fluorescent protein,” Gene 111: 229-233). The amino acid sequences of a large number of other fluorescent proteins or mutants thereof have also been reported. Such amino acid sequences are described in Roger Y. Tsien, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1998. 67: 509-44, and the cited documents thereof, for example. As such a green fluorescent protein (GFP), a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP), or a mutant thereof, those derived from Aequorea coerulescens (e.g. Aequorea victoria) can be used, for example.
The nucleotide sequences of genes encoding the fluorescent proteins used in the present invention have been known. As such genes encoding the above fluorescent proteins, commercially available products can also be used. For example, the EGFP vector, EYFP vector, ECFP vector, and EBFP vector, which are commercially available from Clontech, can be used as such gene products.
Moreover, fluorescent proteins obtained by introducing a novel mutation into amino acids of various types of known fluorescent proteins as described above can also be used. A method of introducing a desired mutation into any given nucleic acid sequence has been known to persons skilled in the art. For example, DNA comprising a mutation can be constructed using, as appropriate, known techniques such as sited-directed mutagenesis, PCR using degenerate oligonucleotides, or a technique of exposing cells containing nucleic acids to a mutation-inducing agent or radioactive ray. Such known techniques are described, for example, in Molecular Cloning: A laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989; and Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Supplement 1 to 38, John Wiley & Sons (1987-1997).
Any type of photosensitizer can be used in the present invention, as long as it is able to generate reactive oxygen species (singlet oxygen) when it is excited by fluorescence resonance energy transfer from the aforementioned fluorescent protein, and as long as the fluorescence spectrum of the fluorescent protein is moderately overlapped with the absorption spectrum of the photosensitizer so that FRET occurs between the photosensitizer and the aforementioned fluorescent protein.
Specific examples of such a photosensitizer include eosin, fluorescein, methylene blue, rose bengal, acid red, protoporphyrin, and hematoporphyrin.
Labeling of a fluorescent protein with a photosensitizer can be carried out by any given method. For example, one or several amino acid residues in the amino acid sequence of a fluorescent protein have previously been substituted with cysteine. Thereafter, such a fluorescent protein having a cysteine residue(s) is allowed to react with a maleimidized photosensitizer such as eosin maleimide, so as to produce a photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein.
When a fluorescent protein is labeled with a photosensitizer according to the aforementioned method, a position to be labeled can be arbitrarily selected by selecting a position into which a cysteine residue is to be introduced. In the present invention, it is preferable that the aforementioned position to be labeled be selected such that a high fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency can be achieved. A fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency from a fluorescent protein to a photosensitizer is preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more, and further more preferably 93% or more.
In the case of using eosin as a photosensitizer for example, a high FRET efficiency can be achieved when photosensitizers bind to amino acid residues that correspond to the amino acid residue at position 6 and/or the amino acid residue at position 229 of CFP. Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, amino acids that correspond to the amino acid at position 6 and/or the amino acid at position 229 of CFP are substituted with cysteine, and photosensitizers can be then allowed to bind to such cysteine residues.
In the present invention, excitation light for fluorescent proteins is applied to a photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein, so that fluorescence resonance energy transfer from the fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer is allowed to occur. The wavelength of the excitation light used herein can be selected, as appropriate, depending on the type of the fluorescent protein used. The irradiation time of such excitation light is not particularly limited. Such excitation light can be applied for approximately several milliseconds to 10 minutes, for example.
The photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein used in the present invention causes fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer as a result of light irradiation. The photosensitizer is thereby excited to generate reactive oxygen species. Thus, the above photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein can be used as a target physiological function inactivator. That is to say, reactive oxygen species can be generated by introducing the photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein into a cell by methods such as microinjection, or by directly injecting the above fluorescent protein into living tissues, followed by irradiation with excitation light. As a result of such generation of reactive oxygen species, a target substance (a protein, etc.) existing around the reactive oxygen species becomes inactivated. As a result, a target physiological function becomes inactivated.
Moreover, another protein may be further fused with the photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein used in the present invention. The type of another protein to be fused is not particularly limited. Examples of such a protein to be fused include a protein localized in a cell, a protein specific for a cell organella, and a targeting signal (e.g. a nuclear localization signal, a mitochondrial presequence). Otherwise, it is also possible to fuse a protein for inactivating functions or a protein interacting with such a protein for inactivating functions, with the photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein.
(2) Method of Inactivating Target Physiological Function Using Structure-Function Complementarity of Split Fluorescent Protein Labeled with Photosensitizer
In a second embodiment, the present invention relates to a method of inactivating a target physiological function, which comprises: a step of introducing into a cell that expresses a fused protein consisting of either the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of a fluorescent protein and any given protein, a labeled protein produced by labeling the other fragment of the fluorescent protein with a photosensitizer, so as to reconstitute a fluorescent protein in the cell; and a step of applying light to the above reconstituted fluorescent protein, so as to cause fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer, thereby exciting the photosensitizer to generate reactive oxygen species.
The outline of the method of the present invention is shown in
As a fluorescent protein used in the present invention, any type of protein can be used, as long as it is able to emit fluorescence as a result of irradiation with excitation light, and as long as it allows a photosensitizer as described later to cause fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The fluorescent protein used in the present invention acts as a donor fluorescent protein in the aforementioned fluorescence resonance energy transfer.
Examples of a fluorescent protein that can be used in the present invention include a cyan fluorescent protein (CFP), a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP), a green fluorescent protein (GFP), a red fluorescent protein (RFP), a blue fluorescent protein (BFP), and a mutant thereof.
The expression “a cyan fluorescent protein, a yellow fluorescent protein, a green fluorescent protein, a red fluorescent protein, a blue fluorescent protein, or a mutant thereof” is used in the present specification not only to mean known fluorescent proteins, but also to include all the mutants thereof (e.g. ECFP, EYFP, EGFP, ERFP, EBFP, etc. obtained by enhancing the fluorescence intensity of each of the aforementioned fluorescent proteins). For example, the gene of such a green fluorescent protein has been isolated and sequenced (Prasher, D. C. et al. (1992), “Primary structure of the Aequorea victoria green fluorescent protein,” Gene 111: 229-233). The amino acid sequences of a large number of other fluorescent proteins or mutants thereof have also been reported. Such amino acid sequences are described in Roger Y. Tsien, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1998. 67: 509-44, and the cited documents thereof, for example. As such a green fluorescent protein (GFP), a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP), or a mutant thereof, those derived from Aequorea coerulescens (e.g. Aequorea victoria) can be used, for example.
The nucleotide sequences of genes encoding the fluorescent proteins used in the present invention have been known. As such genes encoding the above fluorescent proteins, commercially available products can also be used. For example, the EGFP vector, EYFP vector, ECFP vector, and EBFP vector, which are commercially available from Clontech, can be used as such gene products.
Moreover, fluorescent proteins obtained by introducing a novel mutation into amino acids of various types of known fluorescent proteins as described above can also be used. A method of introducing a desired mutation into any given nucleic acid sequence has been known to persons skilled in the art. For example, DNA comprising a mutation can be constructed using, as appropriate, known techniques such as sited-directed mutagenesis, PCR using degenerate oligonucleotides, or a technique of exposing cells containing nucleic acids to a mutation-inducing agent or radioactive ray. Such known techniques are described, for example, in Molecular Cloning: A laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989; and Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Supplement 1 to 38, John Wiley & Sons (1987-1997).
In the present invention, the fluorescent protein is divided into an N-terminal side and a C-terminal side before use. That is, either the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of the fluorescent protein is fused with another protein (e.g. a target protein to be inactivated, a sequence to be localized in a cell organella, etc.), and the thus fused protein is further fused with an amino acid sequence that interacts with another amino acid sequence used to reconstitute the fluorescent protein in a cell. Thereafter, the thus fused protein is allowed to express in a cell in the aforementioned form in advance. As an example, in
The type of “another protein,” which is fused with either the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of the fluorescent protein, is not particularly limited. Examples of such “another protein” include a protein localized in a cell, a protein specific for a cell organella, and a targeting signal (e.g. a nuclear localization signal, a mitochondrial presequence, etc.). Otherwise, it is also possible that a protein for inactivating functions or a protein interacting with such a protein for inactivating functions be fused with such “another protein.” The aforementioned fused protein is allowed to express in a cell according to a common method. That is to say, DNA encoding the fused protein is prepared, and the DNA is then incorporated into a suitable expression vector. Thereafter, the obtained recombinant expression vector is introduced into cells so as to carry out genetic transformation. A suitable expression vector may be selected, as appropriate, depending on the type of a cell used as a host.
The type of a cell used as a host is not particularly limited. Bacterial cells, mammalian cells, yeast cells, or other types of cells can be used. Examples of bacterial cells include: Gram-positive bacteria such as Bacillus or Streptomyces; and Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli. Such bacterial cells may be transformed by the protoplast method or known methods using competent cells. Examples of mammalian cells include HEK293 cells, HeLa cells, COS cells, BHK cells, CHL cells, and CHO cells. Such mammalian cells may be transformed by electroporation, the calcium phosphate method, lipofection, or the like, for example. Examples of yeast cells include cells belonging to genus Saccharomyces or genus Schizosaccharomyces. Specific examples include Saccharomyces cerevislae and Saccharomyces kluyveri. Examples of a method of introducing a recombinant vector into a yeast host include electroporation, the spheroplast method, and the lithium acetate method.
On the other hand, the other fragment (the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment) of the fluorescent protein is labeled with a photosensitizer. Thereafter, it is fused with an amino acid sequence that interacts with the amino acid sequence fused with either the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of the fluorescent protein, which is useful for reconstitution of the fluorescent protein in a cell. As an example, in
As stated above, either the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of the fluorescent protein has previously been allowed to express in a cell, and thereafter, the other fragment of the fluorescent protein is introduced into the cell from the outside. Thus, amino acid sequences, which have been fused with the two above fragments, interact with each other in the cell. As a result, the N-terminal fragment of the fluorescent protein and the C-terminal fragment thereof get closer to each other, so that the fluorescent protein can be reconstituted in the cell.
Any type of photosensitizer can be used in the present invention, as long as it is able to generate reactive oxygen species (singlet oxygen) when it is excited by fluorescence resonance energy transfer from the aforementioned fluorescent protein, and as long as the fluorescence spectrum of the fluorescent protein is moderately overlapped with the absorption spectrum of the photosensitizer so that FRET occurs between the photosensitizer and the aforementioned fluorescent protein.
Specific examples of such a photosensitizer include eosin, fluorescein, methylene blue, rose bengal, acid red, protoporphyrin, and hematoporphyrin.
Labeling of the N-terminal fragment or the C-terminal fragment of a fluorescent protein with a photosensitizer can be carried out by any given method. For example, one or several amino acid residues in the amino acid sequence of the N-terminal fragment or C-terminal fragment of a fluorescent protein have previously been substituted with cysteine. Thereafter, such a fluorescent protein having a cysteine residue(s) is allowed to react with a maleimidized photosensitizer such as eosin maleimide, so as to produce a photosensitizer-labeled fluorescent protein.
In the present invention, excitation light for fluorescent proteins is applied to a fluorescent protein that has been reconstituted in a cell (wherein this fluorescent protein has been labeled with a photosensitizer), so as to cause fluorescence resonance energy transfer from the fluorescent protein to the photosensitizer. The wavelength of the excitation light used herein can be selected, as appropriate, depending on the type of the fluorescent protein used. The irradiation time of such excitation light is not particularly limited. Such excitation light can be applied for approximately several milliseconds to 10 minutes, for example.
In the present invention, reactive oxygen species can be generated by introducing the other fragment of a fluorescent protein, which has been labeled with a photosensitizer, into a cell by methods such as microinjection, or by directly injecting the other fragment into living tissues, followed by irradiation with excitation light. Thus, as a result of such generation of reactive oxygen species, a target substance (a protein, etc.) existing around the reactive oxygen species becomes inactivated. As a result, the target physiological function of the cells existing in a region wherein reactive oxygen species is generated becomes inactivated.
The present invention will be specifically described in the following examples. However, these examples are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
First, in order to improve the maturation efficiency of the ECFP protein and to prevent multimer formation, there was constructed a gene encoding mSECFP-72A, wherein serine at position 72 was substituted for alanine, serine at position 175 was substituted for glycine, and alanine at position 206 was substituted for lysine. Using ECFP/pRSETB as a template, and also using the following three primers, mutagenesis was carried out according to the method described in a publication (Sawano and Miyawaki, Nucleic Acids Res. 28: E78, 2000):
Sapphire was constructed by substituting threonine at position 203 of EGFP with isoleucine. For substitution of the amino acid, the same above method was applied using the following primer:
Subsequently, in order to substitute the amino acids at positions 2, 4, 6, 229, 233, and 238 of both mSECFP-72A and Sapphire with cysteine, PCR was carried out using mSECFP-72A/pRSETB or Sapphire/pRSETB as a template, and also using the following primer sets.
Primer set used in amplification of mSECFP-2C/72A and Sapphire-2C:
Primer set used in amplification of mSECFP-4C/72A and Sapphire-4C:
Primer set used in amplification of mSECFP-6C/72A and Sapphire-6C:
Primer set used in amplification of mSECFP-72A/229C and Sapphire-229C:
Primer set used in amplification of mSECFP-72A/229C and Sapphire-233C: Primer B; and
Primer set used in amplification of mSECFP-72A/229C, Sapphire-238C: Primer B; and
Each PCR product was cleaved with the restriction enzymes BamHI and EcoRI, and the cleaved portion was then inserted into the BamHI-EcoRI of pRSETB, so as to construct mSECFP-2C/72A-pRSETB, mSECFP-4C/72A-pRSETB, mSECFP-6C/72A-pRSETB, mSECFP-72A/229C-pRSETB, mSECFP-72A/233C-pRSETB, mSECFP-72A/238C-pRSETB, Sapphire-2C-pRSETB, Sapphire-4C-pRSETB, Sapphire-6C-pRSETB, Sapphire-229C-pRSETB, Sapphire-233C-pRSETB, and Sapphire-238C-pRSETB.
In order to generate proteins such as mSECFP-2C/72A, mSECFP-4C/72A, mSECFP-6C/72A, mSECFP-72A/229C, mSECFP-72A/233C, mSECFP-72A/238C, Sapphire-2C, Sapphire-4C, Sapphire-6C, Sapphire-229C, Sapphire-233C, and Sapphire-238C in Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli (JM109 DE3) was transformed with 10 ng each of mSECFP-2C/72A-pRSETB, mSECFP-4C/72A-pRSETB, mSECFP-6C/72A-pRSETB, mSECFP-72A/229C-pRSETB, mSECFP-72A/233C-pRSETB, mSECFP-72A/238C-pRSETB, Sapphire-2C-pRSETB, Sapphire-4C-pRSETB, Sapphire-6C-pRSETB, Sapphire-229C-pRSETB, Sapphire-233C-pRSETB, and Sapphire-238C-pRSETB. Each of the obtained transformants was cultured for 1 day in an LB plate that contained 100 μg/ml ampicillin. Thereafter, a single Escherichia coli colony was picked up, and it was then inoculated into 200 ml of LB medium that contained 100 μg/ml ampicillin, followed by shaking culture at 20° C. for 4 days. Thereafter, a cell mass was recovered by centrifugation, and it was then suspended in 10 ml of PBS(−). Thereafter, the cell mass was disintegrated using a French press. 2 ml of Ni-NTA agarose was added to a supernatant, from which the residue had been removed by centrifugation, and the mixture was shaken for 1 hour. A protein adsorbed on the Ni-NTA agarose was filled into a column, and it was then washed with 5 ml of PBS(−), followed by elution with 1 ml of 100 mM imidazole/PBS(−). Thereafter, imidazole was removed from the resultant by the gel filtration method, so as to obtain a purified protein solution.
100 μl of the purified protein solution was dissolved in 500 μl of PBS(−) that contained 1 mM TCEP, and the obtained solution was then incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes. Thereafter, eosin maleimide or fluorescein maleimide (both of which were available from Molecular Probe) was added to the resultant to a final concentration of 0.3 mM, and the obtained mixture was then reacted in a dark place at room temperature for 2 hours. Thereafter, unreacted dye was removed by the gel filtration method, so as to obtain a dye-labeled protein solution. The concentration of the protein was determined by the Bradford method.
Eosin has weak fluorescence. Thus, using a fluorescein-labeled protein, a site having a high FRET efficiency was first examined. 5 mg of a fluorescein-labeled CFP mutant protein was dissolved in 1 ml of PBS(−). Thereafter, the fluorescence spectrum obtained with excitation light at 435 nm was measured using a fluorospectrophotometer (HITACHI F-2500). As a result, it was revealed that a high FRET efficiency can be obtained when the amino acid at position 6 on the N-terminal side and the amino acid at position 229 on the C-terminal side are labeled with dye (
In order to further improve such FRET efficiency, amino acids, at which the maximum FRET efficiency had been obtained on the N- and C-terminal sides, were labeled with eosin, and the spectrum was measured before and after labeling. In addition, the FRET efficiency was calculated based on the intensity ratio of the fluorescence peaks (480 nm) of the CFP mutant, Sapphire in the presence or absence of labeling. The following formula was used for calculation:
E
T=1−(FDA/FD)
ET represents FRET efficiency, FDA represents the fluorescence intensity at 480 nm of the CFP mutant protein that has been labeled with the dye, and FD represents the fluorescence intensity at 480 nm of the CFP mutant protein that has not been labeled with the dye.
A possibility that eosin-labeled CFP generates singlet oxygen in a light irradiation-dependent manner was examined. For the measurement of the amount of singlet oxygen, the Singlet Oxygen Sensor Green Reagent (SOSGR, Molecular Probe) was used as a probe. SOSGR is a nonfluorescent reagent. However, when it specifically reacts with singlet oxygen, it emits fluorescence of 525 nm. 1 μg of eosin-unlabeled or eosin-labeled mSECFP-6C/229C (which were CFP and CFP-eosin, respectively) was dissolved in 15 μl of PBS, and SOSGR was then added to the obtained solution to a final concentration of 66.7 μM. 5 μl of the obtained mixture was transferred into 2 wells of a Terasaki plate. Thereafter, 8 mW of 430-nm laser was applied to one of the two wells for 1 minute. Thereafter, the total amount of solution was diluted with 300 μl of PBS(−), and the fluorescence intensity at 525 nm obtained by excitation at 505 nm was then measured using a fluorospectrophotometer (HITACHI F-2500). The value of the sample that had not been irradiated with the laser was subtracted from the value of the sample that had been irradiated with the laser, and the obtained value was defined as a relative amount of reactive oxygen species generated. From
Using mSECFP-72A/229C-pRSETB as a template, PCR was carried out with the following primer sets.
Primer set used in amplification of CN194:
Primer set used in amplification of CC195:
The PCR product was cleaved with the restriction enzymes HindIII and BamHI, and the cleaved portion was then inserted into the HindIII-BamHI of pcDNA3 (Invitrogen), so as to construct CN194/pcDNA3 and CC195/pcDNA3.
ACID-p1 (LZA) and BASE-p1 (LZB) that form a heterodimeric coiled coil structure (Erin K et al., Current Biology 3, 658-667, 1993) were amplified by PCR using the following synthetic oligonucleotides and primer sets.
LZA synthetic oligonucleotide:
Primer set used in amplification of LZA:
LZB synthetic oligonucleotide:
Primer set used in amplification of LZB:
The PCR products of LZA and LZB were cleaved with the restriction enzymes BamHI and EcoRI, and the cleaved portions were then inserted into the BamHI-EcoRI site of CC195/pcDNA3 and that of CN194/pcDNA3, respectively, so as to construct CC195-LZA/pcDNA3 and CN194-LZB/pcDNA3.
The mitochondrial localization sequence of human ornithine carbamylase (hOC) was amplified by the overlap PCR method using the following synthetic oligonucleotides and primer set.
hOC-N synthetic oligonucleotide:
hOC-C synthetic oligonucleotide:
Primer set used in amplification of hOC-N:
The PCR product of hOC was cleaved with the restriction enzymes HindIII and NotI, and the cleaved portion was then inserted into the HindIII-NotI site of pcDNA3, so as to construct hOC/pcDNA3.
Using CC195-LZA/pcDNA3 and CN194-LZB/pcDNA3 as templates, CN194-LZB and CC195-LZA were amplified by PCR with the following primer sets.
Primer set used in amplification of CN194-LZB:
Primer set used in amplification of CC195-LZA:
The PCR products of CN194-LZB and CC195-LZA were cleaved with the restriction enzymes NotI and XhoI, and each of the cleaved portions was inserted into the NotI-XhoI site of hOC/pcDNA3, so as to construct hOC-CN194-LZB/pcDNA3 and hOC-CC195-LZA/pcDNA3, respectively.
Using hOC-CC195-LZA/pcDNA3 as a template, hOC-CC195-LZA was amplified by PCR with the following primer set.
Primer set used in amplification of hOC-CC195-LZA:
The PCR product was cleaved with the restriction enzymes NdeI and XhoI, and the cleaved portion was then inserted into the NdeI-XhoI site of pET23a (Novagen), so as to construct hOC-CC195-LZA/pET23a.
Escherichia coli (JM109 DE3) was transformed with 10 ng of hOC-CC195-LZA/pET23a. The obtained transformant was cultured for 1 day in an LB plate that contained 100 μg/ml ampicillin. Thereafter, a single Escherichia coli colony was picked up, and it was then inoculated into 200 ml of LB medium that contained 100 μg/ml ampicillin, followed by shaking culture at 20° C. for 4 days. Thereafter, a cell mass was recovered by centrifugation, and it was then suspended in 10 ml of PBS(−). Thereafter, the cell mass was disintegrated using a French press. The residue was removed by centrifugation, so as to produce a roughly purified hOC-CC195-LZA protein solution. Subsequently, TCEP was added to 2.5 ml of the roughly purified hOC-CC195-LZA protein solution to a final concentration of 1 mM. The obtained mixture was incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes. Thereafter, eosin maleimide or fluorescein maleimide (both of which were available from Molecular Probe) was added to the resultant to a final concentration of 0.3 mM, and the obtained mixture was then reacted in a dark place at room temperature for 2 hours. After completion of the reaction, 2 ml of Ni-NTA agarose was added to the reaction product, and the obtained mixture was then shaken for 1 hour. A protein adsorbed on the Ni-NTA agarose was filled into a column, and it was then washed with 5 ml of PBS(−), followed by elution with 1 ml of 100 mM imidazole/PBS(−). Thereafter, imidazole was removed from the resultant by the gel filtration method, so as to obtain a purified protein solution.
1×105 HeLa S3 cells cultured on a 35-mm glass bottom plate were transfected with 1 μg of hOC-CN194-LZB/pcDNA3 by lipofection. 24 hours later, unlabeled hOC-CC195-LZA was introduced into the HeLa cells by a beads load method. 4 hours later, the presence or absence of fluorescence was observed. FV1000 confocal laser microscope manufactured by Olympus Corp. was used as a microscope, and PLANApo ×60 NA1.2 Water was used as objective lens. The protein was excited with laser light (laser power: 15%) of 458-nm line (maximum output: 3 mW) of a multi-argon laser, so as to obtain fluorescence at 470 to 560 nm.
No fluorescence was observed in the HeLa cells that expressed only hOC-CN194-LZB, into which unlabeled hOC-CC195-LZA had not been introduced. In contrast, in the case of the HeLa cells into which unlabeled hOC-CC195-LZA had been introduced, emission of fluorescence from the mitochondria was observed (
The present invention made it possible to generate reactive oxygen species in a light irradiation-dependent manner, thereby inactivating any given target substance (target physiological function). In the present invention, when light is applied, a target substance can be inactivated by reactive oxygen species only in a place to which the light is applied. There are cases where the function of a biomolecule is generally allowed to express at a specific site wherein the physiological function is exhibited, or at a specific time in a stage of generation of individuals. Thus, the method of the present invention capable of time- and space-specifically inactivating a target substance is useful for the analysis of the function of such a biomolecule.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-368946 | Dec 2004 | JP | national |
| 2004-368947 | Dec 2004 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2005/023508 | 12/21/2005 | WO | 00 | 1/31/2008 |
