Fluorescence Polarization and Fluctuation Analysis Monitors Subunit Proximity, Stoichiometry, and Protein Complex Hydrodynamics

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy is frequently used to study protein interactions and conformational changes in living cells. The utility of FRET is limited by false positive and negative signals. To overcome these limitations we have developed Fluorescence Polarization and Fluctuation Analysis (FPFA), a hybrid single-molecule based method combining time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy (homo-FRET) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Using FPFA, homo-FRET (a 1–10 nm proximity gauge), brightness (a measure of the number of fluorescent subunits in a complex), and correlation time (an attribute sensitive to the mass and shape of a protein complex) can be simultaneously measured. These measurements together rigorously constrain the interpretation of FRET signals. Venus based control-constructs were used to validate FPFA. The utility of FPFA was demonstrated by measuring in living cells the number of subunits in the α-isoform of Venus-tagged calcium-calmodulin dependent protein kinase-II (CaMKIIα) holoenzyme. Brightness analysis revealed that the holoenzyme has, on average, 11.9±1.2 subunit, but values ranged from 10–14 in individual cells. Homo-FRET analysis simultaneously detected that catalytic domains were arranged as dimers in the dodecameric holoenzyme, and this paired organization was confirmed by quantitative hetero-FRET analysis. In freshly prepared cell homogenates FPFA detected only 10.2±1.3 subunits in the holoenzyme with values ranging from 9–12. Despite the reduction in subunit number, catalytic domains were still arranged as pairs in homogenates. Thus, FPFA suggests that while the absolute number of subunits in an auto-inhibited holoenzyme might vary from cell to cell, the organization of catalytic domains into pairs is preserved.