Angewandte
Chemie
was added to plates containing labeled cells with Tag-lite labeling
FRET channel. Similarly the Eu channel intensity is
decreased as a result of the FRET process.
medium (100 mL), followed by the addition of the fluorescent red-
CCK(26-33) agonist (20 mL). Plates were incubated at room temper-
ature for 2 hours before signal detection.
In conclusion, we have developed bright, kinetically
stable, highly water-soluble Eu3+ complexes whose emissive
properties are unchanged following bioconjugation. The
carbon-atom substitution of the TACN ring with an amino-
alkyl group (derived from S-lysine) creates a useful synthon
that is easily functionalized with different antennae ligands[26]
for use in a variety of applications. By introducing sulfonate
or carboxylate groups onto the aryl–alkynyl antennae, non-
specific labeling of living HEK cells is suppressed, permitting
the detection of GPCR-CCK2 using derivative [EuL7]. Using
time-resolved detection, the TR-FRET ligand-binding assays
both on a plate reader and with TR-FRET microscopy are
possible. The low nonspecific interactions of these complexes
with cells will be a great advantage for the development of
novel HTRF assays where specific biological interactions are
studied. Furthermore, by introducing different electron-
donating moieties on the aryl ring, we are developing
bioconjugates whose electronic absorption bands are bath-
ochromically shifted,[9,27] thereby improving their brightness
for use in time-resolved confocal or two-photon microscopy.
Competitive binding assay: In competitive binding experiments,
a fixed concentration of the fluorescent red-CCK(26-33) agonist
(10 nm) was used in the presence of increasing concentrations of
antagonist PD135158. PD135158 (20 mL) was added to plates con-
taining labeled cells with Tag-lite labeling medium (100 mL), followed
by the addition of the fluorescent red-CCK(26-33) agonist (10 mL).
Plates were incubated at room temperature for 4 hours before signal
detection.
Signal detection and data analysis: Signal detection was per-
formed on PHERAstar FS plate reader (BMG LABTECH, Cham-
pigny-sur-Marne, France) at l = 620 nm and l = 665 nm (in TR mode:
delay = 60 ms; time gate = 400 ms) upon l = 337 nm laser excitation.
Recorded data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism (GraphPad
Software, Inc., San Diego, CA). Specific binding was determined by
subtracting the nonspecific signal from the total signal. Kd values of
the fluorescent ligand were obtained from the saturation curve of the
specific binding. Ki values were calculated from competition assay
experiments according to the Cheng and Prusoff equation.[28]
TR-FRET Microscopy: A Lab-Tek 8 chamber slide system was
precoated with poly-l-ornithine (200 mL) and incubated for
30 minutes at 378C. The slide was washed with PBS (200 mL) and
HEK293 cells were plated at a density of 5 ꢁ 104 cells per well (c/w)
and incubated overnight at 378C under 5% CO2. The following day,
transfection was performed with optiMEM medium (100 mL), Lip-
ofectamine 2000 (0.8 mL), and SNAP-CCK2 plasmid (1.2 mg per well).
The Lab-Tek slide was further incubated for 2 days at 378C under 5%
CO2. After removal of the medium, SNAP-CCK2 receptors were
labeled with [EuL7] (200 nm) for 1 hour at 378C and washed twice
with Tag-lite medium. The fluorescent red-CCK(26-33) ligand
(10 nm) was added for the FRET signal detection. Hoechst 33342
(2 mgmLÀ1 per well) was added and after 20 minutes incubation at
room temperature and washing twice with Tag-lite medium, the Lab-
Tek slide was observed with a Zeiss oil immersion objective (40 ꢁ
magnification, 1.3 F-Fluar) on the Zeiss Axiovert 200m TR-FRET
inverted microscope equipped with a pulsed nitrogen laser (l =
Materials and Methods
Reagents: The Tag-lite labeling medium (LABMED), the SNAP-
CCK2 plasmid for transient transfection of CCK2 receptors
(PSNAPCCK2), and the red-fluorescent red-CCK(26-33) agonist
(L0013RED) were obtained from Cisbio Bioassays. The CCK2
receptor antagonist PD135158 was purchased from Tocris. CKK(26-
33) was obtained from Almac (Craigavon, UK). The 96-well plates
were purchased from Greiner Bio-One (ref. 655086, Monroe, NC).
Cell culture: HEK293 wild-type cells were cultured in Dulbeccoꢀs
modified Eagleꢀs medium (DMEM) glutaMAX (1966-021; Invitro-
gen, Carlsbad, CA) supplemented with fetal bovine serum (10%),
nonessential amino acids (1%), penicillin/streptomycin (1%), and
HEPES (2 mm; HEPES = 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1-ethanesul-
fonic acid).
337 nm, 30 Hz) and
a cooled intensified CCD camera PI
Max 1024X1024 GenIII. For the luminescence imaging of [EuL7],
a l = 615 Æ 10 nm bandpass filter was used with tdelay = 100 ms, tgate
=
Transfection procedure: Transient transfection was performed in
96-well plates using 100000 cells per well according to a previously
described procedure.[21] Prior to cell seeding, the wells of the plates
were precoated with poly-l-ornithine (50 mL) for 30 minutes at 378C.
The transfection mixture (per individual well) was prepared by
adding the SNAP-tag-CCK2 plasmid (100 ng) to optiMEM medium
(49 mL), and Lipofectamine 2000 (0.8 mL; Invitrogen) and incubating
for 20 minutes at room temperature prior to the addition to the plates.
Subsequently, HEK293 cells (100 mL) at a density of 106 cellmLÀ1 was
distributed in each well of the plates. The plates were incubated
overnight at 378C under 5% CO2.
Receptor labeling: For the labeling of SNAP-CCK2-expressed
HEK293 cells with [EuL5], [EuL6], and [EuL7], a previously de-
scribed procedure[21] was used. A concentration series ranging from
0–500 nm was prepared in Tag-lite labeling medium. After incubation,
the transfection mixture was removed from 96-well plates, and cells
were treated with the prepared solutions (50 mL) and incubated for
1 hour at 378C under 5% CO2. The residual compounds were
removed by washing each well 4 times with Tag-lite labeling medium
(100 mL).
2000 ms, and at 60 gates per exposure. TR-FRET images were
collected with a l = 670 Æ 20 nm bandpass filter using the same
procedure. The recorded data were analyzed using ImageJ software.
Received: June 27, 2014
Published online: August 12, 2014
Keywords: europium · G protein-coupled receptors ·
.
imaging agents · macrocycles · time-resolved FRET
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Fluorescent ligand-binding assay: The affinity of red-CCK(26-33)
for the CCK2 receptors was determined by incubating labeled cells
with increasing concentrations of the fluorescent ligand. The non-
specific signal for each ligand concentration was determined by
adding an excess of the corresponding unlabeled CCK(26-33)
compound (10 mm). The unlabeled CCK(26-33) compound (20 mL)
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 10718 –10722
ꢀ 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim