Biomedical subjects

J Lärmer

Publications and source records attributed to J Lärmer.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Molecular weights of individual proteins correlate with molecular volumes measured by atomic force microscopy.

Proteins are usually identified by their molecular weights, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) produces images of single molecules in three dimensions. We have used AFM to measure the molecular volumes of a number of proteins and to determine any correlation with their known molecular weights. We used native proteins (the TATA-binding protein Tbp, a fusion protein of glutathione-S-transferase and the renal potassium channel protein ROMK1, the immunoglobulins IgG and IgM, and the vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein VASP) and also denatured proteins (the red blood cell proteins actin, Band 3 and spectrin separated by SDS-gel electrophoresis and isolated from nitrocellulose). Proteins studied had molecular weights between 38 and 900 kDa and were imaged attached to a mica substrate. We found that molecular weight increased with an increasing molecular volume (correlation coefficient = 0.994). Thus, the molecular volumes measured with AFM compare well with the calculated volumes of the individual proteins. The degree of resolution achieved (lateral 5 nm, vertical 0.2 nm) depended upon the firm attachment of the proteins to the mica. This was aided by coating the mica with suitable detergent and by imaging using the AFM tapping mode which minimizes any lateral force applied to the protein. We conclude that single (native and denatured) proteins can be imaged by AFM in three dimensions and identified by their specific molecular volumes. This new approach permits detection of the number of monomers of a homomultimeric protein and study of single proteins under physiological conditions at the molecular level.

Anion Exchange Protein 1, Erythrocyte↗

PubMed1997

Imaging excised apical plasma membrane patches of MDCK cells in physiological conditions with atomic force microscopy.

We combined the patch-clamp technique with atomic force microscopy (AFM) to visualize plasma membrane proteins protruding from the extracellular surface of cultured kidney cells (MDCK cells). To achieve molecular resolution, patches were mechanically isolated from whole MDCK cells by applying the patch-clamp technique. The excised inside-out patches were transferred on freshly cleaved mica and imaged with the AFM in air and under physiological conditions (i. e. in fluid). Thus, the resolution could be increased considerably (lateral and vertical resolutions 5 and 0.1 nm, respectively) as compared to experiments on intact cells, where plasma membrane proteins were hardly detectable. The apical plasma membrane surface of the MDCK cells showed multiple protrusions which could be identified as membrane proteins through the use of pronase. These proteins had a density of about 90 per micron(2), with heights between 1 and 9 nm, and lateral dimensions of 20-60 nm. Their frequency distribution showed a peak value of 3 nm for the protein height. A simplified assumption - modelling plasma membrane proteins as spherical structures protruding from the lipid bilayer - allowed an estimation of the possible molecular weights of these proteins. They range from 50 kDa to 710 kDa with a peak value of 125 kDa. We conclude that AFM can be used to study the molecular structures of membranes which were isolated with the patch-clamp technique. Individual membrane proteins and protein clusters, and their arrangement and distribution in a native plasma membrane can be visualized under physiological conditions, which is a first step for their identification.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Viewing the renal epithelium with the atomic force microscope.

The atomic force microscope (AFM) was invented in 1986. It created the possibility to study the surfaces of biological material at the molecular level. The AFM is not only a microscope with atomic resolution (at least when applied to suitable samples) but is also an instrument with a broad variety of other applications. We present five examples demonstating the application of the AFM technique in different ways, mainly in renal epithelium. First, it was used as a high-resolution near-field microscope which generated images of canine kidney chromosomes. Second, dynamic changes of the plasma membrane of canine kidney cells were visualized with a resolution at least 10-fold greater than that obtainable by light microscopy. Third, the AFM was used as a tool which interacted directly with the plasma membrane of canine kidney cells. Fourth, due to its excellent resolution in the third dimension (namely height), continuous measurements of changes in 'height' of multimers of cloned plasma membrane potassium channel proteins of rat kidney (ROMK1) in response to ATP were performed with a time resolution of about 100 ms in physiological buffer. Fifth, the AFM continuously followed dissociation processes of multimeric macromolecules (such as transcription factors) under physiological conditions and, on the basis of individual molecular volume measurements, allowed estimation of the number of monomers in a multimeric complex. Taken together, the AFM offers a wide spectrum of novel approaches for the experimental nephrologist.

Animals↗