Engineering paralog-specific PSD-95 recombinant binders as minimally interfering multimodal probes for advanced imaging techniques
Abstract
Despite the constant advances in fluorescence imaging techniques, monitoring endogenous proteins still constitutes a major challenge in particular when considering dynamics studies or super-resolution imaging. We have recently evolved specific protein-based binders for PSD-95, the main postsynaptic scaffold proteins at excitatory synapses. Since the synthetic recombinant binders recognize epitopes not directly involved in the target protein activity, we consider them here as tools to develop endogenous PSD-95 imaging probes. After confirming their lack of impact on PSD-95 function, we validated their use as intrabody fluorescent probes. We further engineered the probes and demonstrated their usefulness in different super-resolution imaging modalities (STED, PALM and DNA-PAINT) in both live and fixed neurons. Finally, we exploited the binders to enrich at the synapse genetically encoded calcium reporters. Overall, we demonstrate that these evolved binders constitute a robust and efficient platform to selectively target and monitor endogenous PSD-95 using various fluorescence imaging techniques.
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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files.
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Funding
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-13-BS07-0019- 01)
- Christel Poujol
- Matthieu Sainlos
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-16-CE16-0026)
- Christel Poujol
- Matthieu Sainlos
European Research Council (Dyn-Syn-Mem 787340)
- Daniel Choquet
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: All experiments were performed in accordance with the guidelines established by the European Communities Council (Directive 2010/63/EU of September 22, 2010) and were approved by the Animal Experimental Committee of Bordeaux (CE50)
Copyright
© 2024, Rimbault et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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