@inbook {65285, title = {Imaging Cellular Proteins and Structures}, booktitle = {The Liver : Biology and Pathobiology}, year = {2020}, pages = {965 - 978}, publisher = {Wiley}, organization = {Wiley}, edition = {1}, abstract = {

This chapter describes many of the technologies, which have the potential to provide new insights into fundamental aspects of liver biology. Imaging live liver tissue in an animal with multiphoton microscopy coupled with photoactivatable fluorescent proteins and/or additional fluorescent proteins could be used to follow the lineage and fates of individual transplanted stem cells or developing transgenic cells in liver. Proteins or other molecules are labeled with a dye that can be excited with light source. Cells and proteins are generally too small to detect with the naked eye, relatively transparent when imaged by light microscopy, and are highly dynamic. With the increased signal to noise, isotropic and volumetric imaging and high speeds lattice light sheet allows for 3D super-resolution microscopy, as well. Photomultiplier tubes, while capable of detecting and counting single photons, are less useful for high-speed imaging because they normally only detect a single pixel at a time.

}, isbn = {9781119436829}, doi = {10.1002/978111943681210.1002/9781119436812.ch72}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781119436812.ch72}, author = {Weigel, Aubrey V. and Snapp, Erik Lee}, editor = {Arias, Irwin M. and Alter, Harvey J. and Boyer, James L. and Cohen, David E. and Shafritz, David A. and Thorgeirsson, Snorri S. and Wolkoff, Allan W.} } @article {64985, title = {How to design a chalk talk-the million dollar sales pitch}, journal = {Molecular Biology of the Cell}, volume = {30}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jun 15}, pages = {1575-1577}, abstract = {

Each faculty recruiting season, many postdocs ask, "What is a chalk talk?" The chalk talk is many things-a sales pitch, a teaching demonstration, a barrage of questions, and a description of a future research program. The chalk talk is arguably the most important component of a faculty search interview. Yet few postdocs or grad students receive training or practice in giving a chalk talk. In the following essay, I{\textquoteright}ll cover the basics of chalk talk design and preparation.

}, issn = {1939-4586}, doi = {10.1091/mbc.E19-01-0007}, author = {Snapp, Erik Lee} } @article {49419, title = {The development and enhancement of FRAP as a key tool for investigating protein dynamics.}, journal = {Biophysical Journal}, volume = {115}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Aug 17}, pages = {1146-55}, abstract = {

The saga of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) illustrates how disparate technical developments impact science. Starting with the classic 1976 Axelrod et\ al. work in Biophysical Journal, FRAP (originally fluorescence photobleaching recovery) opened the door to extraction of quantitative information from photobleaching experiments, laying the experimental and theoretical groundwork for quantifying both the mobility and the mobile fraction of a labeled population of proteins. Over the ensuing years, FRAP{\textquoteright}s reach dramatically expanded, with new developments in GFP technology and turn-key confocal microscopy, which enabled measurement of protein diffusion and binding/dissociation rates in virtually every compartment within the cell. The FRAP technique and data catalyzed an exchange of ideas between biophysicists studying membrane dynamics, cell biologists focused on intracellular dynamics, and systems biologists modeling the dynamics of cell activity. The outcome transformed the field of cellular biology, leading to a fundamental rethinking of long-held theories of cellular dynamism. Here, we review the pivotal FRAP studies that made these developments and conceptual changes possible, which gave rise to current models of complex cell dynamics.

}, issn = {1542-0086}, doi = {10.1016/j.bpj.2018.08.007}, author = {Lippincott-Schwartz, Jennifer and Snapp, Erik Lee and Phair, Robert D} } @article {49455, title = {moxMaple3: a photoswitchable fluorescent protein for PALM and protein highlighting in oxidizing cellular environments.}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {8}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Oct 03}, pages = {14738}, abstract = {

The ability of fluorescent proteins (FPs) to fold robustly is fundamental to the autocatalytic formation of the chromophore. While the importance of the tertiary protein structure is well appreciated, the impact of individual amino acid mutations for FPs is often not intuitive and requires direct testing. In this study, we describe the engineering of a monomeric photoswitchable FP, moxMaple3, for use in oxidizing cellular environments, especially the eukaryotic secretory pathway. Surprisingly, a point mutation to replace a cysteine substantially improved the yield of correctly folded FP capable of chromophore formation, regardless of cellular environment. The improved folding of moxMaple3 increases the fraction of visibly tagged fusion proteins, as well as FP performance in PALM super-resolution microscopy, and thus makes moxMaple3 a robust monomeric FP choice for PALM and optical highlighting applications.

}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-018-32955-5}, author = {Kaberniuk, Andrii A and Mohr, Manuel A and Verkhusha, Vladislav V and Snapp, Erik Lee} } @article {48223, title = {moxDendra2: an inert photoswitchable protein for oxidizing environments.}, journal = {Chemical Communications}, volume = {53}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jan 19}, pages = {2106-9}, abstract = {

Fluorescent proteins (FPs) that can be optically highlighted enable PALM super-resolution microscopy and pulse-chase experiments of cellular molecules. Most FPs evolved in cytoplasmic environments either in the original source organism or in the cytoplasm of bacteria during the course of optimization for research applications. Consequently, many FPs may fold incorrectly in the chemically distinct environments in subcellular organelles. Here, we describe the first monomeric photoswitchable (from green to bright red) FP adapted for oxidizing environments.

}, doi = {10.1039/C6CC09997A}, author = {Kaberniuk, Andrii A and Morano, Nicholas C and Verkhusha, Vladislav V and Snapp, Erik Lee} } @article {48699, title = {Structure and topology around the cleavage site regulate post-translational cleavage of the HIV-1 gp160 signal peptide.}, journal = {eLife}, volume = {6}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jul 28}, abstract = {

Like all other secretory proteins, the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp160, is targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by its signal peptide during synthesis. Proper gp160 folding in the ER requires core glycosylation, disulfide-bond formation and proline isomerization. Signal-peptide cleavage occurs only late after gp160 chain termination and is dependent on folding of the soluble subunit gp120 to a near-native conformation. We here detail the mechanism by which co-translational signal-peptide cleavage is prevented. Conserved residues from the signal peptide and residues downstream of the canonical cleavage site form an extended alpha-helix in the ER membrane that covers the cleavage site, thus preventing cleavage. A point mutation in the signal peptide breaks the alpha helix allowing co-translational cleavage. We demonstrate that postponed cleavage of gp160 enhances functional folding of the molecule. The change to early cleavage results in decreased viral fitness compared to wild-type HIV.

}, issn = {2050-084X}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.26067}, author = {Snapp, Erik Lee and McCaul, Nicholas and Quandte, Matthias and Cabartova, Zuzana and Bontjer, Ilja and K{\"a}llgren, Carolina and Nilsson, IngMarie and Land, Aafke and von Heijne, Gunnar and Sanders, Rogier W and Braakman, Ineke} }