TY - JOUR
T1 - Hexahistidine-tag-specific optical probes for analyses of proteins and their interactions
AU - Zhao, Chunxia
AU - Hellman, Lance M.
AU - Zhan, Xin
AU - Bowman, Willis S.
AU - Whiteheart, Sidney W.
AU - Fried, Michael G.
PY - 2010/4/15
Y1 - 2010/4/15
N2 - The hexahistidine (His6)/nickel(II)-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni2+-NTA) system is widely used for affinity purification of recombinant proteins. The NTA group has many other applications, including the attachment of chromophores, fluorophores, or nanogold to His6 proteins. Here we explore several applications of the NTA derivative, (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3. This molecule binds our two model His6 proteins, N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor (NSF) and O6-alklyguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT), with moderate affinity (K ∼ 1.5 × 106 M-1) and no effect on their activity. Its high specificity makes (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3 ideal for detecting His6 proteins in complex mixtures of other proteins, allowing (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3 to be used as a probe in crude cell extracts and as a His6-specific gel stain. (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3 binding is reversible in 10 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or 500 mM imidazole, but in their absence it exchanges slowly (kexchange ∼ 5 × 10-6 s-1 with 0.2 μM labeled protein in the presence of 1 μM His6 peptide). Labeling with (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3 allows characterization of hydrodynamic properties by fluorescence anisotropy or analytical ultracentrifugation under conditions that prevent direct detection of protein (e.g., high ADP absorbance). In addition, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3-labeled proteins and suitable donors/acceptors provides a convenient assay for binding interactions and for measurements of donor-acceptor distances.
AB - The hexahistidine (His6)/nickel(II)-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni2+-NTA) system is widely used for affinity purification of recombinant proteins. The NTA group has many other applications, including the attachment of chromophores, fluorophores, or nanogold to His6 proteins. Here we explore several applications of the NTA derivative, (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3. This molecule binds our two model His6 proteins, N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor (NSF) and O6-alklyguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT), with moderate affinity (K ∼ 1.5 × 106 M-1) and no effect on their activity. Its high specificity makes (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3 ideal for detecting His6 proteins in complex mixtures of other proteins, allowing (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3 to be used as a probe in crude cell extracts and as a His6-specific gel stain. (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3 binding is reversible in 10 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or 500 mM imidazole, but in their absence it exchanges slowly (kexchange ∼ 5 × 10-6 s-1 with 0.2 μM labeled protein in the presence of 1 μM His6 peptide). Labeling with (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3 allows characterization of hydrodynamic properties by fluorescence anisotropy or analytical ultracentrifugation under conditions that prevent direct detection of protein (e.g., high ADP absorbance). In addition, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between (Ni2+-NTA)2-Cy3-labeled proteins and suitable donors/acceptors provides a convenient assay for binding interactions and for measurements of donor-acceptor distances.
KW - Analytical ultracentrifugation
KW - Bis-NTA-Cy3
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77049121012&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ab.2009.12.028
DO - 10.1016/j.ab.2009.12.028
M3 - Article
C2 - 20036207
AN - SCOPUS:77049121012
SN - 0003-2697
VL - 399
SP - 237
EP - 245
JO - Analytical Biochemistry
JF - Analytical Biochemistry
IS - 2
ER -