18 research outputs found

    A Bayesian method for inferring quantitative information from FRET data

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Understanding biological networks requires identifying their elementary protein interactions and establishing the timing and strength of those interactions. Fluorescence microscopy and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) have the potential to reveal such information because they allow molecular interactions to be monitored in living cells, but it is unclear how best to analyze FRET data. Existing techniques differ in assumptions, manipulations of data and the quantities they derive. To address this variation, we have developed a versatile Bayesian analysis based on clear assumptions and systematic statistics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our algorithm infers values of the FRET efficiency and dissociation constant, <it>K<sub>d</sub></it>, between a pair of fluorescently tagged proteins. It gives a posterior probability distribution for these parameters, conveying more extensive information than single-value estimates can. The width and shape of the distribution reflects the reliability of the estimate and we used simulated data to determine how measurement noise, data quantity and fluorophore concentrations affect the inference. We are able to show why varying concentrations of donors and acceptors is necessary for estimating <it>K<sub>d</sub></it>. We further demonstrate that the inference improves if additional knowledge is available, for example of the FRET efficiency, which could be obtained from separate fluorescence lifetime measurements.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We present a general, systematic approach for extracting quantitative information on molecular interactions from FRET data. Our method yields both an estimate of the dissociation constant and the uncertainty associated with that estimate. The information produced by our algorithm can help design optimal experiments and is fundamental for developing mathematical models of biochemical networks.</p

    Autopsy verifies demyelination and lack of vascular damage in partially reversible radiation myelopathy

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    STUDY DESIGN: Case report of recovering radiation myelopathy. OBJECTIVE: To present autopsy and functional imaging findings on a unique case of slowly recovering radiation myelopathy with the aim of the clarification of the underlying mechanism. PATIENT: The cervical spinal cord and the distal part of the medulla oblongata of a 36-year-old thyroid cancer patient had been incorrectly irradiated with a total dose of 61 Gy and a fraction size of 3.4 Gy (J Neurol Sci 1999; 163:39-43), resulting in incomplete cervical transection with a 5-month latency period following the termination of radiotherapy. This was followed by a 9.5-year spontaneous improvement until her demise, during which the check-ups were supplemented by positron emission tomography (PET) investigations; these indicated increased [18F]deoxyglucose and [15O]butanol uptakes, but a diminished [11C]methionine accumulation by the irradiated spinal cord segment. RESULTS: Autopsy revealed demyelination (with axonal loss) and neuronal damage in the cervical spinal cord and the distal part of the medulla oblongata. In the same region, only minimal vascular injury (thickening of some of the capillary walls) was detected, but not cell proliferation or chronic inflammation. Bilateral, secondary pyramidal tract degeneration caudal to the irradiated segment was observed. The PET and autopsy findings, although separated by 2 years, are consistent. CONCLUSIONS: The pathological state of the spinal cord revealed by the autopsy is concordant with the incomplete cervical transection, implying that the functional recovery is supported by a process that probably differs from the restoration of the mechanism destroyed by the radiotherapy. For the restoration of the function, we suggest an altered conduction mechanism of the action potential, involving an increased number of sodium channels along the demyelinated segments of the injured axons, which is fully congruent with the PET findings. újratöltve - BIBFORM03067

    Flow cytometric measurement of fluorescence resonance energy transfer on cell surfaces. Quantitative evaluation of the transfer efficiency on a cell-by-cell basis.

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    A method has been developed for the determination of the efficiency (E) of the fluorescence resonance energy transfer between moieties on cell surfaces by use of a computer-controlled flow cytometer capable of dual wavelength excitation. The absolute value of E may be calculated on a single-cell basis. The analysis requires the measurement of samples stained with donor and acceptor conjugated ligands alone as well as together. In model experiments HK 22 murine lymphoma cells labeled with fluorescein-conjugated concanavalin A (Con A) and/or rhodamine conjugated Con A were used to determine energy transfer histograms. Using the analytic solution to energy transfer in two dimensions, a high surface density of Con A binding sites was found that suggests that the Con A receptor sites on the cell surface are to a degree preclustered . We call this technique flow cytometric energy transfer ( FCET )

    Distribution and mobility of murine histocompatibility H-2Kk antigen in the cytoplasmic membrane.

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    The topographical distributions and mobilities of the murine histocompatibility antigen H-2Kk and of concanavalin A (Con A) binding sites have been studied on a murine lymphoma cell line. The spatial distribution of H-2Kk antigens, the average distance between H-2Kk antigens and Con A binding sites, and the separation of different determinants on the H-2Kk antigen itself were determined by using fluorescence resonance energy-transfer measurements with a dual-laser flow sorter. From the lack of energy transfer between bound monoclonal anti-H-2Kk antibodies conjugated with fluorescein (donor) and rhodamine (acceptor), we conclude that the H-2Kk antigen exists without appreciable clustering on the cell surface. Substantial energy transfer between appropriately labeled Con A and antibodies bound to the H-2Kk antigen shows that the two populations are interspersed. Donor/acceptor pairs of monoclonal antibodies binding to different determinants on the same H-2Kk antigen exhibited a degree of energy transfer indicative of a mean separation of 8.6 nm between the sites. Time-resolved phosphorescence anisotropy measurements with anti-H-2Kk antibodies labeled with eosin or erythrosin yielded rotational mobility information for the antigen-antibody complexes on the cell membrane. The rotational correlation time of 10-20 mus and the finite residual anisotropy are compatible with an uniaxial mode of rotation of monomeric antigen around its transmembrane portion and, thus, provide additional evidence for an unclustered distribution. Capping by rabbit anti-mouse IgG immobilized the antigen-antibody complex. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching was used to calculate an apparent lateral diffusion coefficient of 5 +/- 3 X 10(-10) cm2 . s-1 for the H-2Kk antigen labeled with fluoresceinated IgG or its corresponding Fab fragment
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