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STAR Protoc. 2024 Jun 21; 5(2): 103068.
Published online 2024 May 17. doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103068
PMCID: PMC11133971
PMID: 38762884
Charlotte A. Townsend,1,2,3,∗ Andrey A. Petropavlovskiy,1,2 Jordan A. Kogut,1 Alysha M. Church,1 and Shaun S. Sanders1,4,∗∗
Author information Copyright and License information PMC Disclaimer
Associated Data
- Data Availability Statement
Summary
S-acylation, commonly palmitoylation, is the addition of fatty acids to cysteines to regulate protein localization and function. S-acylation detection has been hampered by limited sensitivity and selectivity in low-protein, costly samples like cultured neurons. Here, we present a protocol for sensitive and selective bioorthogonal labeling and click-chemistry-based detection of S-acylated proteins in primary hippocampal neurons. We describe steps for metabolically labeling neurons with alkynyl fatty acid, click chemistry, NeutrAvidin-based capture, and elution with hydroxylamine.
Subject areas: Cell culture, Cell separation/fractionation, Molecular/Chemical Probes
Graphical abstract
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Highlights
•
A bioorthogonal labeling approach for identifying protein S-acylation
•
Protocol for metabolic labeling of neuronal cultures with clickable fatty acids
•
Steps for click chemistry to biotinylate S-acylated proteins
•
Isolation of S-acylated proteins by affinity purification and hydroxylamine elution
Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.
S-acylation, commonly palmitoylation, is the addition of fatty acids to cysteines to regulate protein localization and function. S-acylation detection has been hampered by limited sensitivity and selectivity in low-protein, costly samples like cultured neurons. Here, we present a protocol for sensitive and selective bioorthogonal labeling and click-chemistry-based detection of S-acylated proteins in primary hippocampal neurons. We describe steps for metabolically labeling neurons with alkynyl fatty acid, click chemistry, NeutrAvidin-based capture, and elution with hydroxylamine.
Before you begin
Protein S-acylation involves the covalent attachment of long-chain fatty acids, most commonly the 16-carbon palmitic acid, to the thiol group of intracellular cysteine residues via a thioester bond. S-acylation has been previously studied using both cysteine centric and fatty acid centric approaches, both having advantages and disadvantages.1,2 The cysteine centric or acyl-exchange based approaches, including the acyl biotin exchange3,4,5 and acyl-resin assisted capture assays,6 take advantage of the labile nature of the S-acylation thioester bond. Hydroxylamine cleavage of this bond reveals a free sulfhydryl group, which can then be labeled with biotin or reacted directly to sulfhydryl-reactive beads, respectively, allowing purification and subsequent detection. Although these methods detect all S-acylated proteins, detecting the subset of proteins being S-acylated during a given period or signaling event is difficult with exchange-based assays as the signal from the dynamic pool is often ‘overwhelmed’ by the total pool signal. The fatty acid centric approaches, namely bioorthogonal labeling and click (copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition) chemistry,7,8,9,10 have been powerful tools for investigating S-acylation dynamics. This method requires metabolic labeling of live cells with alkynyl analogs of natural fatty acids followed by the conjugation of alkynyl-fatty acids to an azide-labeled molecule to form a stable triazole bond. The 23-member zinc-finger aspartate-histidine-histidine-cysteine (zDHHC) family of S-acylating enzymes incorporate alkynyl-fatty acids into native protein S-acylation sites.8,9,11 Previously, assay sensitivity and selectivity limits have hampered the detection of S-acylation in primary cells, such as hippocampal neurons, particularly for low-abundant S-acylated proteins and when antibodies for immunoprecipitation are unavailable or expensive.
Here we describe a protocol adapted from Yap etal. 2010, Liao etal. 2021, and Sardana etal. 20238,9,12 using labeling with different chain length saponified alkynyl fatty acids, next generation copper chelating ligands, biotin-azide plus, and a milder reducing agent during click chemistry followed by hydroxylamine-based elution. These alterations have enhanced selectivity and sensitivity to detect low levels of S-acylated proteins in cells, such as primary hippocampal neurons, where samples are limited and/or costly to produce. We have successfully used this protocol with rat-derived primary hippocampal neurons (cultured as previously described from embryonic day 18 rat embryonic hippocampi),13,14 Human Embryonic Kidney 293T (HEK293T; ATCC #CRL-3216) cells, human glioblastoma (U-87 MG; ATCC #HTB-14) cells, and human near-haploid (HAP1; Horizon Discovery #C631) cells.
Institutional permissions
If performing experiments using primary rat- or mouse-derived neurons, approval of animal use procedures will be required from the relevant animal ethics committee. All animal use and procedures were approved by the Animal Care Committee of the University of Guelph and followed the guidelines of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (Animal Use Protocol #4478).
Key resources table
REAGENT or RESOURCE | SOURCE | IDENTIFIER |
---|---|---|
Antibodies | ||
Mouse monoclonal anti-Flotillin 2 (clone 29); 1:10,000 | BD Biosciences | 610383 |
Rabbit monoclonal anti-GluN2B; 1:1,000 | Cell Signaling Technology | 4212S |
Mouse monoclonal anti-Pan-Ras (clone Ras 10); 1:1,000 | Millipore Sigma | MABS195 |
Biological samples | ||
R.norvegicus, primary embryonic hippocampal neurons | Charles River Laboratories | CD timed pregnant (strain code 001) |
Chemicals, peptides, and recombinant proteins | ||
Fatty acid-free bovine serum albumin | Sigma-Aldrich | A7030-50G |
Alkynyl-palmitic acid (15-hexadecynoic acid) | Vector Laboratories | CCT-1165-25 |
Alkynyl-stearic acid (17-octadecynoic acid) | Vector Laboratories | CCT-1166-25 |
Palmitic acid | Sigma-Aldrich | P5585-10G |
2-(4-((bis((1-(tert-butyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl)amino)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)acetic acid (BTTAA) | Vector Laboratories | 1236-100 |
Tris[(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl]amine (TBTA) | Sigma-Aldrich | 678937-50MG |
Tris(3-hydroxypropyltriazolylmethyl)amine (THPTA) | Sigma-Aldrich | 762342-100MG |
Copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO4·5H2O) | Sigma-Aldrich | 209198-100G |
(+) - Sodium L-ascorbate | Sigma-Aldrich | A7631-100G |
Biotin-azide plus | Vector Laboratories | 1488-25 |
Palmostatin B | Sigma-Aldrich | 178501-5MG |
Potassium hydroxide | Fisher Scientific | P250500 |
Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) disodium salt | Fisher Scientific | BP120-500 |
Ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) tetrasodium salt | Sigma-Aldrich | E8145-50G |
Triton X-100 | Sigma-Aldrich | X100-100ML |
HEPES | Fisher Scientific | BP310-1 |
Hydroxylamine hydrochloride | Sigma-Aldrich | 159417 |
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) | Fisher Scientific | BP231-1 |
Iodoacetamide | Fisher Scientific | 122270050 |
Charcoal-stripped fetal bovine serum | Sigma-Aldrich | F6765-100mL |
Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium | Wisent | 319-015-CL |
Thermo Scientific Pierce high capacity NeutrAvidinTM agarose | Fisher Scientific | PI29204 |
Sodium deoxycholate | Sigma-Aldrich | D6750-100G |
Sodium chloride | Sigma-Aldrich | S9888-10KG |
IGEPAL CA-630 | Millipore Sigma | 9002-93-1 |
Magnesium chloride | Sigma-Aldrich | M2670-500G |
cOmplete, EDTA-free protease inhibitor cocktail | Sigma-Aldrich | 5056489001 |
Sodium dodecyl sulfate | Fisher Scientific | BP166-500 |
Leupeptin hemisulfate salt | BioShop Canada | LEU001.25 |
Benzamidine hydrochloride | BioShop Canada | BEN666.25 |
Software and algorithms | ||
Image Studio software | LI-COR Biosciences | https://www.licor.com/bio/image-studio/ |
Image Lab | Bio-Rad | https://www.bio-rad.com/en-ca/product/image-lab-software?ID=KRE6P5E8Z |
Prism | GraphPad | https://www.graphpad.com/how-to-buy/ |
Other | ||
DWK Life Sciences WHEATON V Vial with solid-top screw cap, clear | Fisher Scientific | 22-021-816 |
0.22μm Corning Costar Spin-X centrifuge tube filter | Millipore Sigma | CLS8161 |
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Materials and equipment
25× Roche cOmplete EDTA-free protease inhibitor cocktail (PIC)
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
Roche cOmplete EDTA-free protease inhibitor tabs | 25× |
Dissolve 1 tablet in 4mL ultrapure H2O. |
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Aliquot in 500μL aliquots, stock solution is stable for ≤12weeks at −20°C, repeated free-thaw cycles may result in poor inhibition of protease activity, we suggest limiting to no more than 3 freeze thaw cycles.
500mL EDTA-free modified RIPA buffer
Reagent | Final concentration | Amount |
---|---|---|
1M HEPES pH 7.4 | 50mM | 25mL |
Sodium deoxycholate | 0.5% | 2.5 g |
5.0M NaCl | 150mM | 15mL |
100% IGEPAL CA-630 | 1% | 5mL |
10% SDS | 0.1% | 5mL |
1M MgCl2 | 2mM | 1mL |
PIC, added fresh | 1× | N/A |
Ultrapure H2O | --- | to 500mL |
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Filter sterilize& store at 4°C, stable for approximately 10months.
1L dilution buffer
Reagent | Final concentration | Amount |
---|---|---|
1M HEPES 7.0 | 50mM | 50mL |
10% Triton X-100 | 1% | 100mL |
500mM EDTA | 1mM | 2mL |
500mM EGTA | 1mM | 2mL |
PIC, added fresh | 1× | N/A |
Ultrapure H2O | --- | to 1 L |
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Filter sterilize& store at 4°C, stable for approximately 10months.
1L 2% SDS buffer
Reagent | Final concentration | Amount |
---|---|---|
1M HEPES pH 7.0 | 50mM | 50mL |
10% SDS | 2% | 200mL |
500mM EDTA | 1mM | 2mL |
PIC, added fresh | 1× | N/A |
Ultrapure H2O | --- | to 1 L |
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Filter sterilize& store at 21°C–24°C, stable for approximately 12months.
5mL elution buffer
Reagent | Final concentration | Amount |
---|---|---|
1M HEPES pH 7.4 | 50mM | 250μL |
5M NaCl | 150mM | 150μL |
Hydroxylamine hydrochloride (HAM; store powder desiccated at 21°C–24°C) | 1 M | 0.347 g |
∗Add all the above with ∼2.5mL water, dissolve HAM, pH to 7.3–7.5 with 10N NaOH prior to adding SDS and then adjust to final 5mL volume | ||
10% SDS | 0.1% | 50μL |
PIC, added fresh | 1× | 200μL |
Ultrapure H2O | --- | to 5mL |
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Make fresh as hydroxylamine is prone to oxidation in solution, if precipitate forms warm to 37°C to dissolve before use.
CRITICAL: Hydroxylamine hydrochloride is toxic to aquatic life, avoid release to the environment. Dispose of through appropriate local waste disposal streams.
Fatty acid-free bovine serum albumin (FAF-BSA)
Reagent | Final concentration | Amount |
---|---|---|
FAF-BSA | 20% | 2 g |
Warm DMEM (with no serum, and no antibiotics) | --- | to 10mL |
∗Add FAF-BSA ∼7mL DMEM, dissolve by incubating in 37°C water bath and vortexing frequently, adjust final volume to 10mL once dissolved |
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Filter sterilize, aliquot in 1mL aliquots,& store at −20°C, stable for approximately 8months, single aliquots should be used ≤4 times.
1000× fatty-acid stock solutions
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
Alkynyl fatty acid or non-alkynyl fatty acid | 100mM (1000×) |
Spin down the vial with the alkynyl fatty acid, vortex to reconstitute in DMSO to 100mM, this yields a 1000× stock if using 100μM working concentration. |
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Aliquot in 50μL aliquots& store at −80°C, stable for approximately 12months, single aliquots should be used ≤3 times, as multiple freeze-thaw cycles can result in reduced lipid solubility.
Biotin-azide plus solution
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
Biotin azide plus | 5mM |
Spin down the vial with the biotin azide plus, vortex gently to reconstitute in DMSO to 5mM. |
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Aliquot in 50μL or 100μL aliquots& store at −80°C, stable for approximately 10months, aliquots can only be used once.
1000× leupeptin solution (Leu)
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
Leupeptin hemisulfate | 1mg/mL (1000×) |
Dissolve in ultrapure H2O. |
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Aliquot in 250μL aliquots& store at −20°C, stable for approximately 4months, single aliquots can be used several times.
1000× benzamidine solution (Bz)
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
Benzamidine hydrochloride | 1M (1000×) |
Dissolve in ultrapure H2O. |
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Aliquot in 250μL aliquots& store at −20°C, stable for approximately 4months, single aliquots can be used several times.
100× iodoacetamide solution
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
Iodoacetamide | 100mM (100×) |
Dissolve in ultrapure H2O. |
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Make fresh.
10,000× Palmostatin B solution
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
Palmostatin B | 10mM (10000×) |
Dissolve in DMSO. |
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Aliquot in 500μL aliquots& store at −80°C, stable for approximately 10months, single aliquots can be used ≤3 times.
TBTA solution
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
TBTA (Tris[(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl]amine) | 10mM |
Dissolve in DMSO. |
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Aliquot& store at −80°C, stable up to a month, single aliquots can be used ≤3 times.
THPTA solution
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
THPTA (Tris(3-hydroxypropyltriazolylmethyl)amine) | 100mM |
Dissolve in ultrapure H2O. |
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Make fresh.
BTTAA solution
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
BTTAA (2-(4-((bis((1-(tert-butyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl)amino)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)acetic acid) | 100mM |
Dissolve in ultrapure H2O. |
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Aliquot in 250μL aliquots& store at −80°C, single aliquots can stored at 4° and used for up to 1month.
Sodium L-ascorbate solution
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
Sodium L-Ascorbate | 100–300mM |
Dissolve in ultrapure H2O. |
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Make fresh.
CuSO4 solution
Reagent | Stock concentration |
---|---|
CuSO4·5H20 | 20–48mM |
Dissolve in ultrapure H2O. |
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Store at 21°C–24°C.
Step-by-step method details
Metabolic labeling
Timing: 2–16 h
Metabolic labeling is used to incorporate fatty-acid analogs with a terminal alkyne group that can be used in linking reactions such as click chemistry. By introducing alkynyl-fatty acids, click chemistry can be carried out to isolate S-acylated proteins. There is no interference with cellular processes within cells as alkyne groups are functional groups that do not occur naturally in biological systems. Labeling with fatty acids lacking an alkyne group serves as a negative control for the selectivity of the click reaction and removal of unbound proteins during wash steps.
1.
Saponify fatty acids.
a.
Pre-warm FAF-BSA to 37°C.
b.
In a glass conical vial, add required volume of fatty acid.
Note: We recommend using 100μM working concentration of fatty acids, therefore, per 2mL of media use 2μL of 100mM fatty acid stock solution.
Note: Using glass helps to decrease the binding of fatty acids to the surface of the vial.
Note: The zDHHC family of palmitoylating enzymes have distinct lipid substrate specificities15 so we recommend initially comparing alkynyl-palmitate and alkynyl-stearate for the protein of interest to determine which fatty acid is predominantly used.
Alternatives: The optimal fatty acid concentration may vary in different cell types as free fatty acids can induce toxicity. We typically use 100μM as toxicity is reduced by the saponification/BSA binding process,8,9 however, testing concentrations ranging from 10μM to 100μM is advised.
c.
Add an equal volume of 120mM KOH to the fatty acid and gently tap vial to mix, do not pipette.
Note: The minimum recommended volume for saponification is 4μL, i.e., 2μL of fatty acid plus 2μL of KOH.
d.
Saponify fatty acids by incubating at 70°C for 30 s –3min. Submerge the vials in water in a heat block with 25mm slots or in a water bath.
Note: Saponification time varies depending on fatty-acid length and volume. Check after 30s by gently tapping the vial to mix. 16-carbon chain fatty acids take approximately 1.25min to saponify, while 18-carbon chain fatty acids take approximately 3min. Fatty acids will change from an opaque white color to clear and colorless when saponified.
CRITICAL: Proceed to addition of FAF-BSA as soon as the fatty acid-KOH mix turns clear. If it is incubated at 70°C for too long, the DMSO will evaporate, and the fatty acid will precipitate. If this occurs, it cannot be re-saponified, prepare fresh fatty acid-KOH mix.
e.
Add FAF-BSA without letting saponified fatty acids cool down.
Note: Some precipitation of BSA at this point due to heat will occur, the precipitate should go back into solution during the binding step.
i.
For immortal cells use 1% final FAF-BSA concentration, i.e., for every 2μL of fatty acid and 2μL of KOH add 100μL of FAF-BSA for 2mL culture volume, scaled up or down according to desired culture plate/well size.
ii.
For neuronal cultures use 0.5% final FAF-BSA concentration, i.e., for every 2μL of fatty acid and 2μL of KOH add 50μL of FAF-BSA for 2mL culture volume, scaled up or down according to desired culture plate/well size.
f.
Incubate for 15min at 37°C to bind the fatty acid to BSA.
Note: 15min is the minimum time. As this solution is stable for extended periods of time, it is acceptable if it remains at 37°C for longer (up to an hour).
2.
Label cells.
a.
Add 100μL (immortal) or 50μL (neuronal cultures) of saponified fatty acid/FAF-BSA mix for every 2mL media to cells dropwise across the surface of the plate.
Note: To increase uptake of fatty acids when labeling immortalized cells, prior to adding the fatty acids, wash the cells with 1× PBS once, and replace regular media with delipidated media for 30–60min. Delipidated media contains 5% charcoal stripped serum (instead of 10% regular serum), which allows for the depletion of fatty acids from the cells without inducing autophagy and cell death while conserving the expensive charcoal stripped serum. In addition, at this point the plate/well volume can be reduced to further conserve the delipidated media, i.e., for a 10-cm plate use 4mL of delipidated media or for a 60-mm plate use 2mL delipidated media.
Note: Delipidated media should not be used for primary neuronal cultures that are cultured in Neurobasal media with B27 as a full media change can stress neurons. In addition, Neurobasal media with B27 does not contain saturated fatty acids so no delipidated media is required.
CRITICAL: Adding fatty acids drop-wise reduces excessive toxicity/cells stress and reduced lipid solubility caused by areas of high fatty acid concentration and ensures even distribution across the entire well/plate.
b.
Incubate 1–16 h.
Note: Labeling time depends on the experimental set-up and the protein(s) of interest. We recommend first testing a 4–7h. labeling period. A protein with a short S-acylation half-life such as Ras can be labeled in as little as 5min to 1 h, while proteins that are S-acylated more stably and slowly can be labeled for 8–12 h.
CRITICAL: To avoid fatty acid β-oxidation, we do not recommend labeling cells for more than 16 h.8,9
3.
Harvest cells.
a.
Following incubation, aspirate the media, wash cells with 1× PBS (immortal cultures) or 1× Recording Buffer+ 1mM MgCl2 (neuronal cultures; 25mM HEPES pH7.4, 120mM NaCl, 5mM KCl, 2mM CaCl2, 30mM Glucose).
Note: The buffer used to wash the cells can be any buffer that is commonly used for the given cell type.
b.
Lyse cells in an appropriate volume of ice-cold EDTA-free modified RIPA Buffer, supplemented with PIC and Palmostatin B and collect into 1.5mL centrifuge tubes on ice.
Note: The volume of lysis buffer will depend on the seeding density and cell type, i.e., for neurons we use 300–500μL per well of a 6-well plate (seeded at a density of 30,000 cells/cm2) or 500–750μL per 60mm dish of HEK293T cells that are 90% confluent.
Note: Palmostatin B is a potent inhibitor of acyl-protein thioesterases 1 and 2 and it also targets other serine hydrolases.16,17 We recommend adding it to prevent potential de-acylation due to residual activity of de-S-acylating enzymes in the lysis buffer.
Alternatives: We recommend testing lysis buffers with different detergents to optimize solubilization of the protein of interest. We have successfully used 2% SDS lysis buffer (2% SDS, 50mM HEPES or Tris pH 7.4) and 1% β-D-maltoside in PBS. Indeed, we were able to successfully detect S-acylation using 2% SDS buffer for a protein that was previously not detectable using the RIPA buffer.
CRITICAL: Do not harvest in buffers that contain copper chelators, such as EDTA or EGTA, that will interfere with the click reaction.
Pause point: Samples can be stored at −20°C until ready to proceed.
Click chemistry
Timing: 2 h preparation, 1 h incubation, 16–24h acetone precipitation
Click chemistry relies on the specificity of the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne bioconjugation reaction. The formation of stable azide-alkyne bonds allows for purification of biotin azide-alkyne-protein conjugates using NeutrAvidin-based capture.
4.
Prepare lysates.
a.
If frozen, thaw cell lysates on ice.
b.
Rotate cell lysates for ½ h at 4°C at 12 rpm on a tube revolver.
c.
Spin down lysates at 17,000×g for 10min at 4°C and carefully remove the supernatant taking care not to disturb the pellet.
Optional: Pass supernatant through a 0.22μm Spin-X centrifuge filter via centrifugation at 8,000×g for 2min at 4°C. This will remove any large insoluble, particulate matter, or aggregates that may non-specifically bind to NeutrAvidin beads increasing the background signal in the negative control. This step, however, can be skipped if interested in detecting S-acylation of aggregation-prone proteins. It may require 2 spins to completely filter supernatant, if the sample still does not pass through filter, increase the speed up to 15000×g and spin for an additional 2min.
Alternatives: Spin half hour, 100000×g to remove all insoluble material.
Optional: Block free thiols that may interfere with the click reaction by adding 1mM iodoacetamide to lysates and incubate for half an hour with rotation at 21°C–24°C.
Pause point: Samples can be frozen and stored at −20°C following protein clearance and blocking.
5.
Prepare inputs.
a.
Run Bio-Rad DC protein assay or other protein quantification assay that is compatible with the lysis buffer.
b.
Dilute 20–50μg of protein in ice-cold EDTA-free modified RIPA buffer (or appropriate lysis buffer used to lyse cells) with PIC to a final volume of 80μL.
c.
Add 20μL of 5× Laemmli Sample Loading Buffer with 5% β-mercaptoethanol (BME; final 1% concentration).
d.
Denature at 50°C for 10min or 95°C for 5min, depending on the protein of interest.
CRITICAL: Transmembrane or aggregation-prone proteins can aggregate if heated at too high a temperature and as a result may not properly resolve on SDS-PAGE gel.
6.
Prepare lysates for click chemistry reaction.
a.
Dilute 150–1000μg of protein lysates in ice-cold EDTA-free modified RIPA buffer (or appropriate lysis buffer used to lyse cells) with PIC according to volumes listed below.
Note: The required protein amount is dependent on the protein of interest, we recommend first testing 500μg of protein. This amount is sufficient to detect S-acylation of low abundance proteins, while not oversaturating the signal from highly S-acylated proteins. We have successfully performed the click reaction with as low as 150μg of protein.
Note: The purpose of the chelator ligand is to stabilize and increase the availability of Cu1+. However, due to their different chelating properties and polarity, the chelator ligands are not mutually interchangeable, and a specific chelator ligand may be incompatible with the protein of interest.18 Therefore, we suggest carrying out an initial click chemistry reaction with a direct comparison of all three chelator ligands listed below to determine which yields optimal signal/noise.
i.
TBTA= 455μL.
ii.
THPTA= 415μL.
iii.
BTTAA= 415μL.
7.
Perform click reaction according to tables below (final volume for all is 500μL/reaction).
a.
Add 10μL of biotin-azide plus stock solution to diluted lysates.
b.
Prepare a master mix of TBTA, THPTA, or BTTAA and CuSO4.
Note: CuSO4/chelating agent solution will turn darker blue than CuSO4 alone
c.
Add required volume of chelator ligand/CuSO4 master mix to the lysates with biotin-azide plus.
i.
TBTA= 30μL.
ii.
THPTA= 50μL.
iii.
BTTAA= 50μL.
d.
Add required volume of sodium L-ascorbate to lysates to start the reaction.
e.
Incubate 1h at 21°C–24°C in the dark with rotation at 12rpm on a tube revolver.
Stock Working Volume/reaction TBTA 10mM 0.1mM 5μL CuSO4 20mM 1mM 25μL Na+ L-Ascorbate 100mM 1mM 5μL Biotin azide plus 5mM 100μM 10μL Open in a separate window
Stock Working Volume/reaction THPTA 100mM 5mM 25μL Na+ L-Ascorbate 300mM 15mM 25μL CuSO4 20mM 5mM 25μL Biotin azide plus 5mM 100μM 10μL Open in a separate window
Stock Working Volume/reaction BTTAA 100mM 5mM 25μL Na+ L-Ascorbate 249mM 12.45mM 25μL CuSO4 48mM 2.4mM 25μL Biotin azide plus 5mM 100μM 10μL Open in a separate window
8.
Stop the click reaction by adding 10.2μL of 0.5M EDTA, pH= 8.0 (10mM final concentration).
9.
Acetone precipitate protein.
a.
Transfer samples to 15mL conical tubes and add ice-cold acetone to 80% final concentration, i.e., 2mL of 100% acetone for 500μL reaction.
CRITICAL: Acetone will dissolve polystyrene serological pipettes, use glass serological pipettes only.
b.
Mix thoroughly, incubate at −20°C for 14–16h to fully precipitate proteins.
Note: Acetone precipitation is required to remove the excess biotin azide plus from the sample.
Alternatives: Other methods to remove excess biotin azide plus; such as desalting columns, trichloroacetic acid precipitation, or chloroform-methanol precipitation, can be used if they have been previously tested and result in good recovery of the protein of interest.
Pause point: Precipitated proteins can be kept in acetone for up to 7days.
NeutrAvidin pull-down& hydroxylamine elution
Timing: 2 h preparation, 3 h incubation, 1h elution
Avidin-biotin binding allows for the purification of S-acylated proteins from total lysates. While hydroxylamine cleavage facilitates the specific removal of the S-acylated proteins from NeutrAvidin beads by reducing the thioester bond. Proteins can then be visualized through SDS-PAGE and immunoblot analysis.
10.
Pellet and wash precipitated protein.
a.
Pellet protein precipitate by centrifugation for 5min at 900×g in benchtop centrifuge at 4°C.
b.
Carefully decant supernatant.
c.
Add 6mL chilled acetone to wash pellet and re-spin.
d.
Repeat wash.
e.
Quick spin after final decant.
Note: Take care not to dislodge the pellet, it is normal for the protein pellets to appear blue.
f.
Remove residual acetone with the gel loading tip.
g.
Allow acetone to completely evaporate but do not over dry as an over dry protein pellet will be difficult to redissolve. A pellet that is sufficiently dry but not over dried should have a slight sheen to it. An over-dry pellet will look matte and paper-like.
h.
Resuspend pellet in 250μL 2% SDS buffer with PIC.
Note: PIC is added to safeguard against proteases that might not be completely denatured, or proteases introduced from the environment.
i.
Transfer to new 15mL conical tubes and leave on rotator at 21°C–24°C until fully dissolved while preparing the buffers required for next step.
CRITICAL: Failure to fully dissolve the pellet may result in incomplete recovery of all proteins. The acetone needs to evaporate fully, but do not let the pellets get over dry, as it will make the protein harder to resuspend. Following rotation, pellets can be sonicated if still not fully dissolved.
11.
Purify biotinylated proteins using NeutrAvidin-based capture.
a.
Dilute samples in 4.75mL ice-cold dilution buffer with 150mM NaCl, 1× Leupeptin (Leu), and 1× Benzamidine (Bz).
Note: Leu and Bz are added to protect against proteases that might have been introduced from the environment as the PIC that was added to the 2% SDS buffer is diluted during this step.
b.
Prepare high capacity NeutrAvidin agarose beads by taking 30μL resuspended bead slurry/sample.
Note: Use a cut tip when handling beads.
Alternatives: We recommend using high capacity NeutrAvidin agarose beads rather than regular capacity beads to ensure that the highly abundant proteins do not oversaturate the beads and low-abundance proteins are being fully captured.
c.
Wash beads 3× 500μL dilution duffer with 150mM NaCl, Leu, and Bz. 150mM NaCl is added in fresh to the final concentration required from a stock solution of 5 M, stock dilution buffer is described above in “materials and equipment”.
d.
Following the final wash, resuspend beads in 500 or 1000μL of dilution duffer with 150mM NaCl, Leu, and Bz depending on the volume of beads. Add the dilution buffer until the meniscus is just above the 500 or 1000μL volume marker on the microcentrifuge tube.
Note: Before aliquoting beads, ensure you have at least the desired volume of beads by taking up with a p1000.
e.
Aliquot an equal volume of NeutrAvidin-agarose to your samples with a cut p200 tip, mixing by gently pipetting up and down between each sample to ensure even distribution of beads.
Note: The same cut tip, if avoiding touching the insides of the tube, can be used between samples to further reduce pipetting error.
f.
Incubate 3h at 4°C with rotation at 12rpm on a tube revolver.
g.
Prepare wash and elution buffers according to table below during pull-down.
CRITICAL: Do not place elution buffer on ice as precipitation of buffer may occur. If precipitated, incubate at 37°C for 1–2min and gently vortex before use.
Buffer Components Volume required Wash Buffer #1 Dilution buffer with 0.5M NaCl, 1× Leu, 1× Bz 3 washes x 1mL/sample Wash Buffer #2 Dilution buffer with 1× Leu, 1× Bz 1 wash x 1mL/sample Elution Buffer Elution buffer (as described in buffer list above) with PIC 40μL/sample Open in a separate window
12.
Elute purified S-acylated proteins.
a.
Pellet beads by centrifugation for 3min, 700×g at 4°C in a benchtop centrifuge.
b.
Aspirate supernatant.
c.
Add 1mL of Wash Buffer #1 to each sample and transfer to a fresh 1.5mL centrifuge tube.
d.
Pulse-spin beads (8000×g) and aspirate supernatant.
e.
Wash pellet twice more with Wash Buffer #1.
f.
Wash 1× times with Wash Buffer #2.
g.
Remove all residual wash buffer with a gel loading tip.
h.
Add 40μL Elution Buffer.
i.
Incubate for 1h at 21°C–24°C with plenty of mixing.
Note: Do not invert samples. To improve mixing, we suggest using a shaking dry bath set to 1000rpm.
j.
Quick spin to pellet beads
k.
Transfer supernatant to a fresh tube using gel loading tip
Optional: If protein concentration is very low, resuspend the beads and transfer them toa0.22-micron SpinX column and spin at 7800×g for 5min to collect the entire supernatant.
Optional: Low-binding microcentrifuge tubes can also be used to collect the eluent if the expected yield is low.
l.
Add 10μL of Laemmli 5× Sample Loading Buffer with 5% BME
m.
Denature protein sample by heating at 50°C for 10min or 95 C for 5min
Pause point: Samples can be stored at −20°C until ready to proceed with western blotting.
13.
Proceed with SDS-PAGE, western, and immunoblot, using any protocol of choice.
Note: Hydroxylamine elution buffer will not interfere with Tris-Glycine gel chemistry, howeverwe have not tested resolving the samples eluted in hydroxylamine on any other gel chemistry.
Expected outcomes
Day invitro (DIV) 21 primary rat hippocampal neurons were metabolically labeled for 16h with palmitate, alkynyl-palmitate (15-hexadecynoic acid), or alkynyl-stearate (17-octadecynoic acid). The following day neurons were lysed, and S-acylated proteins were isolated following this protocol. The resulting purified S-acylated proteins were subjected to SDS-PAGE and immunoblot using antibodies against the following S-acylated proteins: GluN2B subunit of the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) glutamate neurotransmitter receptor,19,20 lipid microdomain-associated protein flotillin-2,21 and small GTPase Ras22,23 (Figure1). No detectable S-acylation signal was detected in the palmitate negative control condition for any of the three proteins. GluN2B, S-acylation of which is known to be challenging to detect, was preferentially S-acylated with 16-carbon alkynyl-palmitate with minimal detectable S-acylation with the 18-carbon alkynyl-stearate. In contrast, both flotillin-2 and Ras were readily S-acylated by both analogs.
Figure1
S-acylation of neuronal proteins
(A) DIV21 primary rat hippocampal neurons were metabolically labeled with palmitate, alkynyl-palmitate, or alkynyl-stearate for 16 h. Neurons were lysed and protein lysates subjected to click chemistry to covalently tag alkyne groups with biotin. S-acyl-proteins were then isolated using NeutrAvidin-based capture, followed by elution using neutral hydroxylamine. S-acyl-proteins (left panels) and total protein levels in parent lysates (right panels) were then subjected to SDS-PAGE and detected by immunoblot using antibodies against GluN2B (top panel), Flotillin-2 (middle panel), and Ras (bottom panel).
(B) Quantified data from A showing GluN2B (left), Flotillin-2 (middle), and Ras (right) S-acylation/total levels in palmitate (white), alkynyl-palmitate (dark gray), and alkynyl-stearate (light gray), normalized to the alkynyl-palmitate condition (non-parametric one-way ANOVA; GluN2B: p= 0.0054, Kruskal-Wallis statistic= 8.040, N= 4, ∗p= 0.0208; Flotillin: p= 0.0026, Kruskal-Wallis statistic= 8.320, N= 4, ∗p= 0.0153; Ras: p= 0.0033, Kruskal-Wallis statistic= 8.350, N= 4, ∗p= 0.0151; data are represented as mean± standard deviation).
Quantification and statistical analysis
Following imaging of immunoblots, protein levels can be quantified using mean gray value densitometry with any software of choice. The values for each purified sample can then be normalized to the corresponding input (i.e., total protein), and then normalized to a control condition (e.g., cells labeled with alkynyl-palmitate). These values are then used to perform a parametric or non-parametric test of significance, depending on the number of replicates and distribution of values. We have found that performing 4-5 independent biological replicates (e.g., cells of a different passage number or separate neuronal cultures) is typically sufficient to perform an informative statistical analysis of these data.
Limitations
Obtaining results from click-chemistry is limited to the stability of S-acylation and the protein itself, such that proteins that are stably S-acylated and/or proteins with long-half-lives may require longer labeling times that exceed the recommended 16 h. We suggest first establishing the half-life of the protein of interest and carrying out experiments with time-course metabolic labeling.
Troubleshooting
Problem 1
Click reaction and pull-down fail to yield a detectable amount of S-acylated protein of interest.
Potential solution 1
Before proceeding to other troubleshooting steps, test the performance of the click assay by probing for well S-acylated proteins that are expressed in the cells of interest, such as calnexin (runs at ∼90kDa), N-Ras/H-Ras (run at ∼25kDa), SNAP-25 (runs at ∼25kDa), PSD-95 (runs at ∼95kDa), or GAP-43 (runs at ∼45kDa).
Problem 2
The background signal in the control sample labeled with fatty acid without an alkyne group is high.
Potential solution 2
This issue could occur for several reasons. First, DMSO-soluble chelator ligands can cause protein precipitation due to the high final DMSO concentration in the reaction (click chemistry step #7). In this case, other water-soluble chelator ligands should be tested. Second, the protein may be prone to non-specific binding to the NeutrAvidin beads during pull-down and/or not being completely removed during the wash steps ( step #12). In this case, beads can be first blocked in 1% BSA dissolved in PBS prior to pull-down step. Wash buffers can also be supplemented with a up to 0.5% SDS to increase the stringency of the wash steps and/or wash step times can be extended.
Problem 3
Following acetone precipitation and 16- to 24-h incubation at −20°C ( step #10) no protein pellet or smaller-than- expected pellet is observed.
Potential solution 3
Ensure that the amount of 100% acetone added yields 80% final concentration. Thoroughly mix samples following acetone addition. If still no precipitate is observed, double-check the calculations for the protein amount used in the reaction. We have successfully used acetone precipitation for as little as 150μg of protein in 500μL.
Problem 4
Click chemistry could fail with proteins that contain free thiols due to strong copper-thiol interaction. This will limit the copper availability in solution for the click reaction.
Potential solution 4
Prior to performing click reaction (i.e., right after click chemistry step #4 c.), 1mM iodoacetamide should be added to lysates for half an hour to block the free thiol groups which will increasing copper availability in the reaction.
Resource availability
Lead contact
Further information and requests for resources and reagents should be directed to and will be fulfilled by the lead contact, Shaun Sanders (ac.hpleugou@30ednass).
Technical contact
Technical questions should be directed to and will be fulfilled by the technical contact, Charlotte Townsend (ac.hpleugou@10snwotc).
Materials availability
This study did not generate new unique reagents.
Data and code availability
This study did not generate any unique datasets or codes.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; RGPIN-2021-02547). We thank all members of the Sanders’ Lab as well as Dr. Dale Martin (University of Waterloo), who assisted with helpful discussions during the development of this protocol. We would also like to acknowledge that the University of Guelph resides on the Dish with One Spoon territory and treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit and the traditional lands of the Hodinöhsö:ni and Anishinaabeg people. We offer respect and gratitude to all First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people who now call these lands home.
Author contributions
C.A.T., A.A.P., J.A.K., and S.S.S. conceived of the project. C.A.T., A.A.P., J.A.K., and A.M.C. contributed to designing, planning, and conducting experiments. C.A.T. performed all analysis. C.A.T., A.A.P., J.A.K., A.M.C., and S.S.S. contributed to the writing and/or editing of the manuscript. S.S.S. contributed to overall supervision and funding acquisition.
Declaration of interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
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