Hemagglutinin clusters in the plasma membrane are not enriched with cholesterol and sphingolipids.

The clusters of the influenza envelope protein, hemagglutinin, within the plasma membrane are hypothesized to be enriched with cholesterol and sphingolipids. Here, we directly tested this hypothesis by using high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry to image the distributions of antibody-labeled hemagglutinin and isotope-labeled cholesterol and sphingolipids in the plasma membranes of fibroblast cells that stably express hemagglutinin. We found that the hemagglutinin clusters were neither enriched with cholesterol nor colocalized with sphingolipid domains. Thus, hemagglutinin clustering and localization in the plasma membrane is not controlled by cohesive interactions between hemagglutinin and liquid-ordered domains enriched with cholesterol and sphingolipids, or from specific binding interactions between hemagglutinin, cholesterol, and/or the majority of sphingolipid species in the plasma membrane.

Sphingolipid domains in the plasma membranes of fibroblasts are not enriched with cholesterol.

The plasma membranes of mammalian cells are widely expected to contain domains that are enriched with cholesterol and sphingolipids. In this work, we have used high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry to directly map the distributions of isotope-labeled cholesterol and sphingolipids in the plasma membranes of intact fibroblast cells. Although acute cholesterol depletion reduced sphingolipid domain abundance, cholesterol was evenly distributed throughout the plasma membrane and was not enriched within the sphingolipid domains. Thus, we rule out favorable cholesterol-sphingolipid interactions as dictating plasma membrane organization in fibroblast cells. Because the sphingolipid domains are disrupted by drugs that depolymerize the cells actin cytoskeleton, cholesterol must instead affect the sphingolipid organization via an indirect mechanism that involves the cytoskeleton.

Direct chemical evidence for sphingolipid domains in the plasma membranes of fibroblasts.

Sphingolipids play important roles in plasma membrane structure and cell signaling. However, their lateral distribution in the plasma membrane is poorly understood. Here we quantitatively analyzed the sphingolipid organization on the entire dorsal surface of intact cells by mapping the distribution of (15)N-enriched ions from metabolically labeled (15)N-sphingolipids in the plasma membrane, using high-resolution imaging mass spectrometry. Many types of control experiments (internal, positive, negative, and fixation temperature), along with parallel experiments involving the imaging of fluorescent sphingolipids--both in living cells and during fixation of living cells--exclude potential artifacts. Micrometer-scale sphingolipid patches consisting of numerous (15)N-sphingolipid microdomains with mean diameters of ∼200 nm are always present in the plasma membrane. Depletion of 30% of the cellular cholesterol did not eliminate the sphingolipid domains, but did reduce their abundance and long-range organization in the plasma membrane. In contrast, disruption of the cytoskeleton eliminated the sphingolipid domains. These results indicate that these sphingolipid assemblages are not lipid rafts and are instead a distinctly different type of sphingolipid-enriched plasma membrane domain that depends upon cortical actin.

Identifying differentiation stage of individual primary hematopoietic cells from mouse bone marrow by multivariate analysis of TOF-secondary ion mass spectrometry data.

The ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple types of blood and immune cells renders hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) valuable for clinical treatment of hematopoietic pathologies and as models of stem cell differentiation for tissue engineering applications. To study directed hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) differentiation and identify the conditions that recreate the native bone marrow environment, combinatorial biomaterials that exhibit lateral variations in chemical and mechanical properties are employed. New experimental approaches are needed to facilitate correlating cell differentiation stage with location in the culture system. We demonstrate that multivariate analysis of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) data can be used to identify the differentiation state of individual hematopoietic cells (HCs) isolated from mouse bone marrow. Here, we identify primary HCs from three distinct stages of B cell lymphopoiesis at the single cell level: HSPCs, common lymphoid progenitors, and mature B cells. The differentiation state of individual HCs in a test set could be identified with a partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model that was constructed with calibration spectra from HCs of known differentiation status. The lowest error of identification was obtained when the intrapopulation spectral variation between the cells in the calibration and test sets was minimized. This approach complements the traditional methods that are used to identify HC differentiation stage. Further, the ability to gather mass spectrometry data from single HSCs cultured on graded biomaterial substrates may provide significant new insight into how HSPCs respond to extrinsic cues as well as the molecular changes that occur during cell differentiation.

Fluorinated colloidal gold immunolabels for imaging select proteins in parallel with lipids using high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry.

The local abundance of specific lipid species near a membrane protein is hypothesized to influence the protein's activity. The ability to simultaneously image the distributions of specific protein and lipid species in the cell membrane would facilitate testing these hypotheses. Recent advances in imaging the distribution of cell membrane lipids with mass spectrometry have created the desire for membrane protein probes that can be simultaneously imaged with isotope labeled lipids. Such probes would enable conclusive tests to determine whether specific proteins colocalize with particular lipid species. Here, we describe the development of fluorine-functionalized colloidal gold immunolabels that facilitate the detection and imaging of specific proteins in parallel with lipids in the plasma membrane using high-resolution SIMS performed with a NanoSIMS. First, we developed a method to functionalize colloidal gold nanoparticles with a partially fluorinated mixed monolayer that permitted NanoSIMS detection and rendered the functionalized nanoparticles dispersible in aqueous buffer. Then, to allow for selective protein labeling, we attached the fluorinated colloidal gold nanoparticles to the nonbinding portion of antibodies. By combining these functionalized immunolabels with metabolic incorporation of stable isotopes, we demonstrate that influenza hemagglutinin and cellular lipids can be imaged in parallel using NanoSIMS. These labels enable a general approach to simultaneously imaging specific proteins and lipids with high sensitivity and lateral resolution, which may be used to evaluate predictions of protein colocalization with specific lipid species.

Fuming method for micropatterning structures on Langmuir-Blodgett films.

Lipid monolayers of L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) are used to pattern substrates using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. Lipid monolayers are deposited onto freshly cleaved mica surfaces or glass capillaries under conditions that lead to distinct patterns in the film. Exposure of the supported monolayer to ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate fumes leads to preferential polymerization in the more hydrated regions of the patterned monolayer. This method enables surfaces to be micropatterned where the lateral features are controlled by the structure present in the underlying LB film, and the vertical feature size is controlled by the length of the fuming process. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements confirm that the original structure in the LB film is preserved following fuming and that the lateral and vertical feature sizes can be controlled from nanometers to micrometers. This method, therefore, provides a rapid and versatile approach for micropatterning both flat and curved surfaces on a variety of substrates.