Photo-reactive amino acid analog
Encyclopedia
Photo-reactive amino acid analogs for in-vivo crosslinking of protein complexes were introduced in 2005 by researchers from the Max Planck Institute. In this method, cells are grown with photoreactive
Photochemistry
Photochemistry, a sub-discipline of chemistry, is the study of chemical reactions that proceed with the absorption of light by atoms or molecules.. Everyday examples include photosynthesis, the degradation of plastics and the formation of vitamin D with sunlight.-Principles:Light is a type of...

 diazirine
Diazirine
Diazirines are a class of organic molecules consisting of a carbon bound to two nitrogen atoms, which are double-bonded to each other, forming a cyclopropene-like ring...

 analogs to leucine
Leucine
Leucine is a branched-chain α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2. Leucine is classified as a hydrophobic amino acid due to its aliphatic isobutyl side chain. It is encoded by six codons and is a major component of the subunits in ferritin, astacin and other 'buffer' proteins...

 and methionine
Methionine
Methionine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2SCH3. This essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar. This amino-acid is coded by the codon AUG, also known as the initiation codon, since it indicates mRNA's coding region where translation into protein...

, which are incorporated into proteins. Upon exposure to ultraviolet light, the diazirines are activated and bind to interacting proteins that are within a few angstrom
Ångström
The angstrom or ångström, is a unit of length equal to 1/10,000,000,000 of a meter . Its symbol is the Swedish letter Å....

s of the photo-reactive amino acid analog.

L-Photo-Leucine and L-Photo-Methionine are analogs of the naturally occurring L-Leucine and L-Methionine amino acids that are endogenously incorporated into the primary sequence of proteins during synthesis using the normal translation machinery. They are then ultraviolet light (UV)-activated to covalently crosslink proteins within protein–protein interaction domains in their native in-vivo environment. The method enables the determination and characterization of both stable and transient protein interactions in cells without the addition of chemical crosslinkers and associated solvents that can adversely affect the cell biology
Cell biology
Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...

 being studied in the experiment.

When used in combination with limiting media that is devoid of leucine and methionine, the photo-activatable derivatives are treated like naturally occurring amino acids by the cellular protein synthesis machinery. As a result, they can be substituted for leucine or methionine in the primary structure of proteins. Photo-leucine and photo-methionine derivatives contain diazirine rings that are activated when exposed to UV light to become reactive intermediates that form covalent bonds with nearby protein side chains and backbones. Naturally interacting proteins within the cell can be instantly trapped by photoactivation of the diazirine-containing proteins in the cultured cells. Crosslinked protein complexes can be detected by decreased mobility on SDS-PAGE followed by Western blot
Western blot
The western blot is a widely used analytical technique used to detect specific proteins in the given sample of tissue homogenate or extract. It uses gel electrophoresis to separate native proteins by 3-D structure or denatured proteins by the length of the polypeptide...

ting, size exclusion chromatography
Size exclusion chromatography
Size-exclusion chromatography is a chromatographic method in which molecules in solution are separated by their size, and in some cases molecular weight . It is usually applied to large molecules or macromolecular complexes such as proteins and industrial polymers...

, sucrose
Sucrose
Sucrose is the organic compound commonly known as table sugar and sometimes called saccharose. A white, odorless, crystalline powder with a sweet taste, it is best known for its role in human nutrition. The molecule is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose with the molecular formula...

 density gradient sedimentation or mass spectrometry
Mass spectrometry
Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles.It is used for determining masses of particles, for determining the elemental composition of a sample or molecule, and for elucidating the chemical structures of molecules, such as peptides and...

.
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