ProDOL: A general method to determine the degree of labelling for staining optimisation and molecular counting

Stan Asenov Tashev, Jonas Euchner, Klaus Yserentant, Siegfried Hapfelmeier, Felix Hild, Wioleta Chmielewicz, Johan Hummert, Florian Schwörer, Nikolaos Tsopoulidis, Stefan Germer, Zoe Saßmannshausen, Oliver T. Fackler, Ursula Klingmüller, Dirk Herten*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Determining the label to target ratio, also known as degree of labelling (DOL), is crucial for quantitative fluorescence microscopy and a high DOL with minimal unspecific labelling is beneficial for fluorescence microscopy in general. Yet, robust, versatile, and easy-to-use tools for measuring cell-specific labelling efficiencies are not available. This study presents a novel DOL determination technique named Protein-tag DOL (ProDOL), which enables fast DOL measurements and optimisation of protein-tag labelling. With ProDOL various factors affecting labelling efficiency, including substrate type, incubation time, and concentration, as well as sample fixation and cell type can be easily assessed. We applied ProDOL to investigate how HIV-1 pathogenesis factor Nef modulates CD4 T cell activation measuring total and activated copy numbers of the adaptor protein SLP-76 in signalling microclusters. ProDOL proved to be a versatile and robust tool for labelling calibration, enabling determination of labelling efficiencies, optimisation of strategies, and quantification of protein stoichiometry.
Original languageEnglish
JournalNature Methods
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 26 Mar 2024

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