This study was funded by National Institutes of Health grants R01HL105826 and K02HL114749 (Dr. Sadayappan), and American Heart Association Midwest Fellowships; 11PRE7240022 (Mr. Barefield) and 13POST14720024 (Dr. Govindan). The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Jimmy Page, Jill Clampit and Dr. John Hudson, MSD, for their excellent technical and literature support in developing the assay.

1. Uniplex cMyBP-C Assay
<ol>
	<li>The day before the experiment, coat the 96-well MSD bare standard plate with capture antibody. For cMyBP-C, use a 30 &mu;l volume of mouse monoclonal anti-cMyBP-C antibody (gelatin free) at a concentration of 5 &mu;g/ml diluted in phosphate buffered saline (PBS).</li>
	<li>Since the well is hydrophobic, pipette the solution into the bottom corner of the well; then tap the sides of the plate to spread the solution over the entire well.</li>
	<li>The plate is covered with a plate sealer and incubated O/N at 4 &deg;C without shaking.</li>
	<li>Remove the capture antibody solution by tapping the solution out over a sink and then on a stack of paper towels. Non-specific binding to the plate is blocked by adding 150 &mu;l of a 5% (w/v) blocker A (high-grade BSA) solution in PBS to each well.</li>
	<li>Seal the plate and incubate for 1 hr at RT while shaking at 700 rpm.</li>
	<li>During the blocking step, prepare the standards and samples. Make the standard series by diluting recombinant cMyBP-C protein fragment (amino acids 1 - 271) to a starting concentration of 2,000 ng/ml in 1% (w/v) blocker A/PBS. Then serially dilute by a factor of 5 in 1% (w/v) blocker A/PBS. Total of 7 standards + 1 blank (1% (w/v) blocker A/PBS alone) were used.</li>
	<li>Remove the blocking solution and wash the plate 3x with 150 &mu;l 0.05% (v/v) Tween-20/PBS. Each time, remove the wash solution by inverting the plate above a sink. After the third wash step, vigorously flick the plate over a sink and pat the plate vigorously on a layer of paper towels until it is completely dry. This is a crucial step, as incubation volumes are small, and any remaining wash solution will significantly dilute the next incubation.</li>
	<li>Pipette 25 &mu;l of standards and samples into the wells. Seal the plate and incubate at RT, while shaking at 700 rpm for 1 hr.</li>
	<li>Prepare the detection antibody solution at 1 &mu;g/ml in 1% blocker A/PBS. A custom made cMyBP-C antibody (epitope amino acids 2 - 14) with MSD SULFO-TAG labeling serves as the detection antibody. Kits are available for SULFO-TAG labeling, making it a relatively simple procedure to label any antibody.</li>
	<li>Repeat the wash step as described in step 1.4.</li>
	<li>Add 25 &mu;l of detection antibody solution to each well, seal the plate, and incubate at RT for 1 hr on a plate shaker set at 700 rpm.</li>
	<li>During the incubation period, run MSD's demo-plate (plate with LED lights) to ensure proper function of the Sector Imager and software (refer Reagent section). Also, dilute the read-buffer, which is provided by MSD, by adding 5 ml of 4x read-buffer to 15 ml distilled water.</li>
	<li>Repeat the wash step as described in step 1.4.</li>
	<li>Add 150 &mu;l of read-buffer to each well by using a multichannel pipette. Be sure to avoid air bubbles (reverse pipetting is a suitable method). After addition of the read-buffer, immediately scan the plate in the Sector Imager.</li>
</ol>
2. 3-plex cMyBP-C, CK-MB, and cTnI Assay
<ol>
	<li>A 96-well 3-plex plate and diluent solutions are allowed to equilibrate to RT before use. This plate is pre-coated with capture antibodies for cMyBP-C, CK-MB, and cTnI by MSD.</li>
	<li>Add 25 &mu;l of 1% (w/v) blocker A/PBS to each well. Tap the sides of the plate to make sure that the entire well is covered by solution.</li>
	<li>Seal the plate with a plate sealer, place the plate on a plate shaker, and shake at 700 rpm for 30 min.</li>
	<li>In the meantime, a dilution series of individual calibrators is prepared. Because each well has three capture antibodies three calibrators need to be mixed and serially diluted before use. Dilute recombinant cMyBP-C, CK-MB (MSD), and cTnI (MSD) together in 1% (w/v) blocker A/PBS to create one sample with 2,000 ng/ml cMyBP-C, 100 ng/ml CK-MB, and 25 ng/ml cTnI (sample A).</li>
	<li>A final volume of at least 100 &mu;l is prepared for each standard. To complete the standard series, serially dilute the samples are by a factor of 5. Use 25 &mu;l of sample A in 100 &mu;l 1% (w/v) blocker A/PBS to create sample B. Then use 25 &mu;l of sample B in 100 &mu;l 1% (w/v) blocker A/PBS to create sample C, and so forth. Human serum samples from 16 subjects with MI and 16 control subjects were used to measure cMyBP-C, CK-MB, and cTnI levels. These samples were diluted 2x in 1% (w/v) blocker A/PBS.</li>
	<li>Add 25 &mu;l of the standards and diluted samples to the 25 &mu;l already present in the wells of the 3-plex plate. It is important to also include a blank (diluent only). To establish the technique, samples are loaded in technical triplicates. Otherwise, duplicates are sufficient.</li>
	<li>Seal the plate again (plate sealer can be reused) and incubate on a plate shaker (700 rpm) at RT for 2 hr.</li>
	<li>Just before the incubation is finished, the detection antibody solution is prepared. The diluent used is 1% (w/v) blocker A in PBS. All three SULFO-tagged detection antibodies are diluted together into a final concentration of 1 &mu;g/ml each. Detection antibodies are typically provided at a 50x stock concentration.</li>
	<li>For a full 96-well plate, 2,700 &mu;l of total diluted solution is needed (with pipetting error included). Add 54 &mu;l of each detection antibody to 2,538 &mu;l 1% (w/v) blocker A/PBS.</li>
	<li>After 2 hr, remove solutions by vigorously flicking the plate above a sink. Wash the wells 3x with 150 &mu;l of 0.05% Tween-20 in PBS. Add 25 &mu;l of detection antibody solution to each well using a multichannel pipette, and the sides of the plate are tapped to ensure that the entire well is covered by solution.</li>
	<li>Seal the plate and incubate for 1 hr while shaking at 700 rpm.</li>
	<li>During the incubation period, run MSD's demo-plate (plate with LED lights) to ensure proper function of the Sector Imager and software. Also dilute the read-buffer, which is provided by MSD, by adding 5 ml of 4x read-buffer to 15 ml distilled water.</li>
	<li>Repeat the wash step described in step 2.8.</li>
	<li>Add 150 &mu;l of read-buffer to each well using a multichannel pipette. Avoiding air bubbles is critical (reverse pipetting is a suitable method). After addition of the read-buffer, immediately scan the plate in the Sector Imager.</li>
</ol>

<ol>
	<li>Thygesen, K., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Third+universal+definition+of+myocardial+infarction.">Third universal definition of myocardial infarction.</a> Eur. Heart J. 33, 2551-2567 (2012).</li><li>Leng, S. X., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ELISA+and+multiplex+technologies+for+cytokine+measurement+in+inflammation+and+aging+research.">ELISA and multiplex technologies for cytokine measurement in inflammation and aging research.</a> J. Gerontol. A. Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 63, 879-884 (2008).</li><li>Thompson, I., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Competitive+electrochemiluminescence+wash+and+no-wash+immunoassays+for+detection+of+serum+antibodies+to+smooth+Brucella+strains.">Competitive electrochemiluminescence wash and no-wash immunoassays for detection of serum antibodies to smooth Brucella strains.</a> Clin. Vaccine Immunol. 16, 765-771 (2009).</li><li>Kingsmore, S. F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Multiplexed+protein+measurement:+technologies+and+applications+of+protein+and+antibody+arrays.">Multiplexed protein measurement: technologies and applications of protein and antibody arrays.</a> Nat. Rev. Drug. Discov. 5, 310-320 (2006).</li><li>Altan, Z. M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+long-acting+tumor+necrosis+factor+alpha-binding+protein+demonstrates+activity+in+both+in+vitro+and+in+vivo+models+of+endometriosis.">A long-acting tumor necrosis factor alpha-binding protein demonstrates activity in both in vitro and in vivo models of endometriosis.</a> J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 334, 460-466 (2010).</li><li>Patel, K. D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=High+sensitivity+cytokine+detection+in+acute+coronary+syndrome+reveals+up-regulation+of+interferon+gamma+and+interleukin-10+post+myocardial+infarction.">High sensitivity cytokine detection in acute coronary syndrome reveals up-regulation of interferon gamma and interleukin-10 post myocardial infarction.</a> Clin. Immunol. 133, 251-256 (2009).</li><li>Fu, Q., Zhu, J., Van Eyk, J. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Comparison+of+multiplex+immunoassay+platforms.">Comparison of multiplex immunoassay platforms.</a> Clin. Chem. 56, 314-318 (2010).</li><li>Mahajan, V. S., Jarolim, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=How+to+interpret+elevated+cardiac+troponin+levels.">How to interpret elevated cardiac troponin levels.</a> Circulation. 124, 2350-2354 (2011).</li><li>Govindan, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cardiac+myosin+binding+protein-C+is+a+potential+diagnostic+biomarker+for+myocardial+infarction.">Cardiac myosin binding protein-C is a potential diagnostic biomarker for myocardial infarction.</a> J. Mol. Cell Cardiol. 52, 154-164 (2012).</li><li>Barefield, D., Sadayappan, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Phosphorylation+and+function+of+cardiac+myosin+binding+protein-C+in+health+and+disease.">Phosphorylation and function of cardiac myosin binding protein-C in health and disease.</a> J. Mol. Cell Cardiol. 48, 866-875 (2010).</li><li>Kuster, D. W., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cardiac+myosin+binding+protein+C+phosphorylation+in+cardiac+disease.">Cardiac myosin binding protein C phosphorylation in cardiac disease.</a> J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 33, 43-52 (2012).</li><li>Sadayappan, S., de Tombe, P. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cardiac+myosin+binding+protein-C:+redefining+its+structure+and+function.">Cardiac myosin binding protein-C: redefining its structure and function.</a> Biophys. Rev. 4, 93-106 (2012).</li><li>Sadayappan, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cardiac+myosin+binding+protein-C:+a+potential+early-stage,+cardiac-specific+biomarker+of+ischemia-reperfusion+injury.">Cardiac myosin binding protein-C: a potential early-stage, cardiac-specific biomarker of ischemia-reperfusion injury.</a> Biomark Med. 6, 69-72 (2012).</li><li>Fichorova, R. N., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Biological+and+technical+variables+affecting+immunoassay+recovery+of+cytokines+from+human+serum+and+simulated+vaginal+fluid:+a+multicenter+study.">Biological and technical variables affecting immunoassay recovery of cytokines from human serum and simulated vaginal fluid: a multicenter study.</a> Anal. Chem. 80, 4741-4751 (2008).</li><li>Malekzadeh, A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Challenges+in+multi-plex+and+mono-plex+platforms+for+the+discovery+of+inflammatory+profiles+in+neurodegenerative+diseases.">Challenges in multi-plex and mono-plex platforms for the discovery of inflammatory profiles in neurodegenerative diseases.</a> Methods. 56, 508-513 (2012).</li></ol>

A full patent application is pending (Application Serial No. 13/464,466, Pub. No. US 2012/0282618 A1 and Date: 05/04/12) to determine the risk factors associated with cMyBP-C degradation and release into human body fluid and quantitate the level of cMyBP-C in human body fluid.

In this study, we show the applicability of a multiplex immunoassay for the detection of multiple cardiac biomarkers in serum from patients. This technique has numerous advantages over traditional ELISA. First, ECL in the assay kit is used instead of colorimetric detection. In ECL, an electrical signal stimulates the local production of the measured property (light), thus uncoupling the stimulation event from the signal, which reduces background14. This allows for high sensitivity, as can be seen in Ta...

The measurement of low amounts of protein in complex biological samples, such as serum, is of growing clinical importance for patient management, as well as basic science. For instance, an increase in serum levels of cardiac biomarkers, such as troponin I, in a clinical setting is consistent with acute myocardial infarction (MI)1. To detect proteins in serum samples, standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the most often used technique as it has high sensitivity and allows for absolute quantification of the analyte. However, traditional ELISAs require a relatively large amount of sample (typically 100 &mu;l), have high background signal in some biological fluids, and are restricted to the measurement of only one analyte per ELISA2.	
Recently, a new immunoassay technique was introduced that circumvents many of these drawbacks. This modified assay, developed by MSD, uses electrochemiluminescence (ECL) for signal detection, which allows for a very low background and an increased sensitivity, enabling the use of small sample volumes. Electrochemiluminescence is based on the reporter molecule ruthenium (II) trisbipyridal, which is attached to the detection antibodies. This reporter molecule emits light at 620 nm upon the electrical stimulation of the bottom of the 96-well plate which has carbon electrodes integrated in them3. Also, by using spot coating, multiple capture antibodies can be coated into one well (up to 10 on a 96-well plate), allowing for simultaneous quantification of different proteins in a single sample4. This technique has recently been used to measure proinflammatory cytokine profiles in serum5,6. The multiplex plates from MSD compare favorably to other multiplex assay platforms7.
Using MSD as the primary assay platform, we further developed a custom made 3-plex plate that can simultaneously quantify the level of cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C), creatine-kinase MB (CK-MB), and cardiac troponin I (cTnI), and the results were compared with monoplex detection of cMyBP-C. CK-MB and cTnI are well-established biomarkers for MI. However, increases of these biomarkers can be caused by pathologies other than MI, e.g. myocarditis or renal failure8. This argues for the addition of additional biomarkers to increase the specificity of MI diagnosis. We have recently shown that cMyBP-C is also a potential biomarker for MI9. cMyBP-C is a thick filament associated protein that is expressed in the heart,10-12 but not in skeletal or smooth muscles. Thus, the increased level of cMyBP-C in the circulatory system is a specific indicator of cardiac damage13.
In this study, we compared uniplex detection of cMyBP-C with the use of a custom 3-plex assay to measure serum levels of cMyBP-C, CK-MB, and cTnI in serum of patients with MI. In the future, this signature technique might be used to diagnose MI in patients presenting with chest pain in the emergency room.
The institution review board (IRB) of the Loyola University Chicago approved the study for use of deidentified human samples and the use of the immunoassay (LU# 20392).

<table border="1">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MSD Read-Buffer T (4X) with surfactant</td>
			<td>Meso Scale Discovery</td>
			<td>R92TC-2</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tween-20</td>
			<td>Acros</td>
			<td>9005-64-5</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MSD Blocker A</td>
			<td>Meso Scale Discovery</td>
			<td>R93BA-1</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phosphate buffered saline, 10X</td>
			<td>Fisher BioReagents</td>
			<td>BP399-4</td>
			<td>Filter before use</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Myosin binding protein C antibody, mouse monoclonal (E7), gelatin free</td>
			<td>Santa Cruz</td>
			<td>SC-137180L</td>
			<td>For coating, antibody has to be gelatin free</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Plates and Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Multi-Array 96-well standard plate</td>
			<td>Meso Scale Discovery</td>
			<td>L15XA-3</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>A prototype 3-plex, four-spot, 96-well plate with cMyBP-C, cTnI and CK-MB</td>
			<td>Meso Scale Discovery</td>
			<td>N452A-1</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ThermaSeal Sealing Film</td>
			<td>Life Science Products Inc.</td>
			<td>ST-3098</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MSD SECTOR Imager 2400A</td>
			<td>Meso Scale Discovery</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MTS 2/4 digital microtiter shaker</td>
			<td>IKA</td>
			<td>3208001</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

a sensitive and specific quantitation method for determination of serum cardiac myosin binding protein-c by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay

Biomarkers are becoming increasingly more important in clinical decision-making, as well as basic science. Diagnosing myocardial infarction (MI) is largely driven by detecting cardiac-specific proteins in patients' serum or plasma as an indicator of myocardial injury. Having recently shown that cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C) is detectable in the serum after MI, we have proposed it as a potential biomarker for MI. Biomarkers are typically detected by traditional sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. However, this technique requires a large sample volume, has a small dynamic range, and can measure only one protein at a time.	
Here we show a multiplex immunoassay in which three cardiac proteins can be measured simultaneously with high sensitivity. Measuring cMyBP-C in uniplex or together with creatine kinase MB and cardiac troponin I showed comparable sensitivity. This technique uses the Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) method of multiplexing in a 96-well plate combined with electrochemiluminescence for detection. While only small sample volumes are required, high sensitivity and a large dynamic range are achieved. Using this technique, we measured cMyBP-C, creatine kinase MB, and cardiac troponin I levels in serum samples from 16 subjects with MI and compared the results with 16 control subjects. We were able to detect all three markers in these samples and found all three biomarkers to be increased after MI. This technique is, therefore, suitable for the sensitive detection of cardiac biomarkers in serum samples.

The basic principles and workflow of the 3-plex assay are shown in Figure 1, and the overall workflow is described in Table 1. Uniplex assays work along the same principle except that the entire bottom well is coated with one capture antibody. Signal detection is done by ECL in which an electrical signal is applied to the bottom of the well. This, in turn, initiates a local production of light through a chemical reaction of the read-buffer with the SULFO-TAG label on the detection antibo...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about A Sensitive and Specific Quantitation Method for Determination of Serum Cardiac Myosin Binding Protein-C by Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay at JoVE.com

A Sensitive and Specific Quantitation Method for Determination of Serum Cardiac Myosin Binding Protein-C by Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay

Measuring biomarkers in complex biological samples is increasingly guiding clinical decision-making. We describe a highly sensitive method to simultaneously measure cardiac myosin binding protein-C, creatine kinase MB, and cardiac troponin I in serum samples from subjects with myocardial infarction and healthy control subjects.

Biomarkers are becoming increasingly more  important in clinical decision-making, as well as basic science. Diagnosing  myocardial infarction (MI) is ...

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16.6K Views.  Loyola University Chicago. Measuring biomarkers in complex biological samples is increasingly guiding clinical decision-making. We describe a highly sensitive method to simultaneously measure cardiac myosin binding protein-C, creatine kinase MB, and cardiac troponin I in serum samples from subjects with myocardial infarction and healthy control subjects.

Video: A Sensitive and Specific Quantitation Method for Determination of Serum Cardiac Myosin Binding Protein-C by Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay

PAR-CliP - A Method to Identify Transcriptome-wide the Binding Sites of RNA Binding Proteins

RNA transcripts are subjected to post-transcriptional gene regulation by interacting with hundreds of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and microRNA-containing ribonucleoprotein complexes (miRNPs) that are often expressed in a cell-type dependently. To understand how the interplay of these RNA-binding factors affects the regulation of individual transcripts, high resolution maps of in vivo protein-RNA interactions are necessary1.
A combination of genetic, biochemical and computational approaches are typically applied to identify RNA-RBP or RNA-RNP interactions. Microarray profiling of RNAs associated with immunopurified RBPs (RIP-Chip)2 defines targets at a transcriptome level, but its application is limited to the characterization of kinetically stable interactions and only in rare cases3,4 allows to identify the RBP recognition element (RRE) within the long target RNA. More direct RBP target site information is obtained by combining in vivo UV crosslinking5,6 with immunoprecipitation7-9 followed by the isolation of crosslinked RNA segments and cDNA sequencing (CLIP)10. CLIP was used to identify targets of a number of RBPs11-17. However, CLIP is limited by the low efficiency of UV 254 nm RNA-protein crosslinking, and the location of the crosslink is not readily identifiable within the sequenced crosslinked fragments, making it difficult to separate UV-crosslinked target RNA segments from background non-crosslinked RNA fragments also present in the sample.
We developed a powerful cell-based crosslinking approach to determine at high resolution and transcriptome-wide the binding sites of cellular RBPs and miRNPs that we term PAR-CliP (Photoactivatable-Ribonucleoside-Enhanced Crosslinking and Immunoprecipitation) (see Fig. 1A for an outline of the method). The method relies on the incorporation of photoreactive ribonucleoside analogs, such as 4-thiouridine (4-SU) and 6-thioguanosine (6-SG) into nascent RNA transcripts by living cells. Irradiation of the cells by UV light of 365 nm induces efficient crosslinking of photoreactive nucleoside-labeled cellular RNAs to interacting RBPs. Immunoprecipitation of the RBP of interest is followed by isolation of the crosslinked and coimmunoprecipitated RNA. The isolated RNA is converted into a cDNA library and deep sequenced using Solexa technology. One characteristic feature of cDNA libraries prepared by PAR-CliP is that the precise position of crosslinking can be identified by mutations residing in the sequenced cDNA. When using 4-SU, crosslinked sequences thymidine to cytidine transition, whereas using 6-SG results in guanosine to adenosine mutations. The presence of the mutations in crosslinked sequences makes it possible to separate them from the background of sequences derived from abundant cellular RNAs.
Application of the method to a number of diverse RNA binding proteins was reported in Hafner et al.18

RNA transcripts are subject to extensive posttranscriptional regulation that is mediated by a multitude of trans-acting RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Here we present a generalizable method to identify precisely and on a transcriptome-wide scale the RNA binding sites of RBPs.

RNA transcripts are subjected to post-transcriptional gene regulation by interacting with hundreds of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and microRNA-containing ...

Pull-down of Calmodulin-binding Proteins

Calcium (Ca2+) is an ion vital in regulating cellular function through a variety of mechanisms. Much of Ca2+ signaling is mediated through the calcium-binding protein known as calmodulin (CaM)1,2. CaM is involved at multiple levels in almost all cellular processes, including apoptosis, metabolism, smooth muscle contraction, synaptic plasticity, nerve growth, inflammation and the immune response. A number of proteins help regulate these pathways through their interaction with CaM. Many of these interactions depend on the conformation of CaM, which is distinctly different when bound to Ca2+ (Ca2+-CaM) as opposed to its Ca2+-free state (ApoCaM)3.
While most target proteins bind Ca2+-CaM, certain proteins only bind to ApoCaM. Some bind CaM through their IQ-domain, including neuromodulin4, neurogranin (Ng)5, and certain myosins6. These proteins have been shown to play important roles in presynaptic function7, postsynaptic function8, and muscle contraction9, respectively. Their ability to bind and release CaM in the absence or presence of Ca2+ is pivotal in their function. In contrast, many proteins only bind Ca2+-CaM and require this binding for their activation. Examples include myosin light chain kinase10, Ca2+/CaM-dependent kinases (CaMKs)11 and phosphatases (e.g. calcineurin)12, and spectrin kinase13, which have a variety of direct and downstream effects14.
The effects of these proteins on cellular function are often dependent on their ability to bind to CaM in a Ca2+-dependent manner. For example, we tested the relevance of Ng-CaM binding in synaptic function and how different mutations affect this binding. We generated a GFP-tagged Ng construct with specific mutations in the IQ-domain that would change the ability of Ng to bind CaM in a Ca2+-dependent manner. The study of these different mutations gave us great insight into important processes involved in synaptic function8,15. However, in such studies, it is essential to demonstrate that the mutated proteins have the expected altered binding to CaM.
Here, we present a method for testing the ability of proteins to bind to CaM in the presence or absence of Ca2+, using CaMKII and Ng as examples. This method is a form of affinity chromatography referred to as a CaM pull-down assay. It uses CaM-Sepharose beads to test proteins that bind to CaM and the influence of Ca2+ on this binding. It is considerably more time efficient and requires less protein relative to column chromatography and other assays. Altogether, this provides a valuable tool to explore Ca2+/CaM signaling and proteins that interact with CaM.

Calmodulin (CaM) pull-down assay is an effective way to investigate the interaction of CaM with various proteins. This method uses CaM-sepharose beads for efficient and specific analysis of CaM-binding proteins. This provides an important tool to explore CaM signaling in cellular function.

Calcium (Ca2+) is an ion vital in regulating cellular function through a variety of mechanisms. Much of Ca2+ signaling is mediated through the ...

A Method for Mouse Pancreatic Islet Isolation and Intracellular cAMP Determination

Uncontrolled glycemia is a hallmark of diabetes mellitus and promotes morbidities like neuropathy, nephropathy, and retinopathy. With the increasing prevalence of diabetes, both immune-mediated type 1 and obesity-linked type 2, studies aimed at delineating diabetes pathophysiology and therapeutic mechanisms are of critical importance. The &#946;-cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans are responsible for appropriately secreting insulin in response to elevated blood glucose concentrations. In addition to glucose and other nutrients, the &#946;-cells are also stimulated by specific hormones, termed incretins, which are secreted from the gut in response to a meal and act on &#946;-cell receptors that increase the production of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Decreased &#946;-cell function, mass, and incretin responsiveness are well-understood to contribute to the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, and are also being increasingly linked with type 1 diabetes. The present mouse islet isolation and cAMP determination protocol can be a tool to help delineate mechanisms promoting disease progression and therapeutic interventions, particularly those that are mediated by the incretin receptors or related receptors that act through modulation of intracellular cAMP production. While only cAMP measurements will be described, the described islet isolation protocol creates a clean preparation that also allows for many other downstream applications, including glucose stimulated insulin secretion, [3H]-thymidine incorporation, protein abundance, and mRNA expression.

Assaying in vitro &#946;-cell function using isolated mouse islets of Langerhans is an important component in the study of diabetes pathophysiology and therapeutics. While many&#160;downstream applications are available, this protocol specifically describes the measurement of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) as an essential parameter determining &#946;-cell function.

Uncontrolled glycemia is a hallmark of diabetes mellitus and promotes morbidities like neuropathy, nephropathy, and retinopathy. With the increasing ...

Protein Purification-free Method of Binding Affinity Determination by Microscale Thermophoresis

Quantitative characterization of protein interactions is essential in practically any field of life sciences, particularly drug discovery. Most of currently available methods of KD determination require access to purified protein of interest, generation of which can be time-consuming and expensive. We have developed a protocol that allows for determination of binding affinity by microscale thermophoresis (MST) without purification of the target protein from cell lysates. The method involves overexpression of the GFP-fused protein and cell lysis in non-denaturing conditions. Application of the method to STAT3-GFP transiently expressed in HEK293 cells allowed to determine for the first time the affinity of the well-studied transcription factor to oligonucleotides with different sequences. The protocol is straightforward and can have a variety of application for studying interactions of proteins with small molecules, peptides, DNA, RNA, and proteins.

Microscale thermophoresis (MST) can be widely used for determination of binding affinity without purification of the target protein from cell lysates. The protocol involves overexpression of the GFP-fused protein, cell lysis in non-denaturing conditions, and detection of MST signal in the presence of varying concentrations of the ligand.

Quantitative characterization of protein  interactions is essential in practically any field of life sciences,  particularly drug discovery. Most of ...

A Rapid and Specific Microplate Assay for the Determination of Intra- and Extracellular Ascorbate in Cultured Cells

Vitamin C (ascorbate) plays numerous important roles in cellular metabolism, many of which have only come to light in recent years. For instance, within the brain, ascorbate acts in a neuroprotective and neuromodulatory manner that involves ascorbate cycling between neurons and vicinal astrocytes - a relationship that appears to be crucial for brain ascorbate homeostasis. Additionally, emerging evidence strongly suggests that ascorbate has a greatly expanded role in regulating cellular and systemic iron metabolism than is classically recognized. The increasing recognition of the integral role of ascorbate in normal and deregulated cellular and organismal physiology demands a range of medium-throughput and high-sensitivity analytic techniques that can be executed without the need for highly expensive specialist equipment. Here we provide explicit instructions for a medium-throughput, specific and relatively inexpensive microplate assay for the determination of both intra- and extracellular ascorbate in cell culture.

Ascorbate plays numerous important roles in cellular metabolism, many of which have only come to light in recent years. Here we describe a medium-throughput, specific and inexpensive microplate assay for the determination of both intra- and extracellular ascorbate in cell culture.

Vitamin C (ascorbate) plays numerous important roles in cellular metabolism, many of which have only come to light in recent years. For instance, within ...

A Strategy for Sensitive, Large Scale Quantitative Metabolomics

Metabolite profiling has been a valuable asset in the study of metabolism in health and disease. However, current platforms have different limiting factors, such as labor intensive sample preparations, low detection limits, slow scan speeds, intensive method optimization for each metabolite, and the inability to measure both positively and negatively charged ions in single experiments. Therefore, a novel metabolomics protocol could advance metabolomics studies. Amide-based hydrophilic chromatography enables polar metabolite analysis without any chemical derivatization. High resolution MS using the Q-Exactive (QE-MS) has improved ion optics, increased scan speeds (256 msec at resolution 70,000), and has the capability of carrying out positive/negative switching. Using a cold methanol extraction strategy, and coupling an amide column with QE-MS enables robust detection of 168 targeted polar metabolites and thousands of additional features simultaneously.&#160; Data processing is carried out with commercially available software in a highly efficient way, and unknown features extracted from the mass spectra can be queried in databases.

Metabolite profiling has been a valuable asset in the study of metabolism in health and disease. Utilizing normal-phased liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry with polarity switching and a rapid duty cycle, we describe a protocol to analyze the polar metabolic composition of biological material with high sensitivity, accuracy, and resolution.

Metabolite profiling has been a valuable asset in the study of metabolism in health and disease. However, current platforms have different limiting ...

qPCR Is a Sensitive and Rapid Method for Detection of Cytomegaloviral DNA in Formalin-fixed, Paraffin-embedded Biopsy Tissue

It is crucial to identify cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of immunosuppressed patients, given their greater risk for developing severe infection. Many laboratory methods for the detection of CMV infection have been developed, including serology, viral culture, and molecular methods. Often, these methods reflect systemic involvement with CMV and do not specifically identify local tissue involvement. Therefore, detection of CMV infection in the GI tract is frequently done by traditional histology of biopsy tissue. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&#38;E) staining in conjunction with immunohistochemistry (IHC) have remained the mainstays of examining these biopsies. H&#38;E and IHC sometimes result in atypical (equivocal) staining patterns, making interpretation difficult. It was shown that quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for CMV can successfully be performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) biopsy tissue for very high sensitivity and specificity. The goal of this protocol is to demonstrate how to perform qPCR testing for the detection of CMV in FFPE biopsy tissue in a clinical laboratory setting. This method is likely to be of great benefit for patients in cases of equivocal staining for CMV in GI biopsies.

This protocol describes qPCR detection of cytomegalovirus in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsy tissue, which is rapid, sensitive, specific, and useful for interpreting equivocal hematoxylin and eosin or immunohistochemical staining patterns.

It is crucial to identify cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of immunosuppressed patients, given their greater risk for ...

Highly Efficient Ligation of Small RNA Molecules for MicroRNA Quantitation by High-Throughput Sequencing

MiRNA cloning and high-throughput sequencing, termed miR-Seq, stands alone as a transcriptome-wide approach to quantify miRNAs with single nucleotide resolution. This technique captures miRNAs by attaching 3&#8217; and 5&#8217; oligonucleotide adapters to miRNA molecules and allows de novo miRNA discovery. Coupling with powerful next-generation sequencing platforms, miR-Seq has been instrumental in the study of miRNA biology. However, significant biases introduced by oligonucleotide ligation steps have prevented miR-Seq from being employed as an accurate quantitation tool. Previous studies demonstrate that biases in current miR-Seq methods often lead to inaccurate miRNA quantification with errors up to 1,000-fold for some miRNAs1,2. To resolve these biases imparted by RNA ligation, we have developed a small RNA ligation method that results in ligation efficiencies of over 95% for both 3&#8217; and 5&#8242; ligation steps. Benchmarking this improved library construction method using equimolar or differentially mixed synthetic miRNAs, consistently yields reads numbers with less than two-fold deviation from the expected value. Furthermore, this high-efficiency miR-Seq method permits accurate genome-wide miRNA profiling from in vivo total RNA samples2.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a widely conserved class of regulatory molecules. Here we describe a miRNA cloning method that relies upon two potent ligation steps followed by high-throughput sequencing. Our method permits accurate genome-wide quantitation of miRNAs.

MiRNA cloning and high-throughput sequencing, termed miR-Seq, stands alone as a transcriptome-wide approach to quantify miRNAs with single nucleotide ...

Quantitation of Endothelial Cell Adhesiveness In Vitro

One of the cardinal processes of inflammation is the infiltration of immune cells from the lumen of the blood vessel to the surrounding tissue. This occurs when endothelial cells, which line blood vessels, become adhesive to circulating immune cells such as monocytes. In vitro measurement of this adhesiveness has until now been done by quantifying the total number of monocytes that adhere to an endothelial layer either as a direct count or by indirect measurement of the fluorescence of adherent monocytes. While such measurements do indicate the average adhesiveness of the endothelial cell population, they are confounded by a number of factors, such as cell number, and do not reveal the proportion of endothelial cells that are actually adhesive. Here we describe and demonstrate a method which allows the enumeration of adhesive cells within a tested population of endothelial monolayer. Endothelial cells are grown on glass coverslips and following desired treatment are challenged with monocytes (that may be fluorescently labeled). After incubation, a rinsing procedure, involving multiple rounds of immersion and draining, the cells are fixed. Adhesive endothelial cells, which are surrounded by monocytes are readily identified and enumerated, giving an adhesion index that reveals the actual proportion of endothelial cells within the population that are adhesive.

Quantitation of Endothelial Cell Adhesiveness In Vitro

We report an in vitro method that allows the quantitation of the actual number of adhesive cells within an endothelial cell monolayer.

One of the cardinal processes of inflammation is the infiltration of immune cells from the lumen of the blood vessel to the surrounding tissue. This ...

Isolation of Specific Genomic Regions and Identification of Associated Molecules by enChIP

The identification of molecules associated with specific genomic regions of interest is required to understand the mechanisms of regulation of the functions of these regions. To enable the non-biased identification of molecules interacting with a specific genomic region of interest, we recently developed the engineered DNA-binding molecule-mediated chromatin immunoprecipitation (enChIP) technique. Here, we describe how to use enChIP to isolate specific genomic regions and identify the associated proteins and RNAs. First, a genomic region of interest is tagged with a transcription activator-like (TAL) protein or a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) complex consisting of a catalytically inactive form of Cas9 and a guide RNA. Subsequently, the chromatin is crosslinked and fragmented by sonication. The tagged locus is then immunoprecipitated and the crosslinking is reversed. Finally, the proteins or RNAs that are associated with the isolated chromatin are subjected to mass spectrometric or RNA sequencing analyses, respectively. This approach allows the successful identification of proteins and RNAs associated with a genomic region of interest.

The identification of molecules associated with specific genomic regions of interest is required to understand the mechanisms of regulation of the functions of these regions. This protocol describes procedures to perform engineered DNA-binding molecule-mediated chromatin imunoprecipitation (enChIP) for identification of proteins and RNAs associated with a specific genomic region.