Probing enzymatic activity inside single cells

Anal Chem. 2013 Nov 5;85(21):10126-33. doi: 10.1021/ac4013122. Epub 2013 Oct 23.

Abstract

We report a novel approach for determining the enzymatic activity within a single suspended cell. Using a steady-state microfluidic delivery device and timed exposure to the pore-forming agent digitonin, we controlled the plasma membrane permeation of individual NG108-15 cells. Mildly permeabilized cells (~100 pores) were exposed to a series of concentrations of fluorescein diphosphate (FDP), a fluorogenic alkaline phosphatase substrate, with and without levamisole, an alkaline phosphatase inhibitor. We generated quantitative estimates for intracellular enzyme activity and were able to construct both dose-response and dose-inhibition curves at the single-cell level, resulting in an apparent Michaelis contant Km of 15.3 μM ± 1.02 (mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM), n = 16) and an inhibition constant Ki of 0.59 mM ± 0.07 (mean ± SEM, n = 14). Enzymatic activity could be monitored just 40 s after permeabilization, and five point dose-inhibition curves could be obtained within 150 s. This rapid approach offers a new methodology for characterizing enzyme activity within single cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Membrane Permeability
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Fluorescence
  • Levamisole / pharmacology
  • Mice
  • Neuroblastoma / enzymology*
  • Neuroblastoma / pathology
  • Rats
  • Single-Cell Analysis*

Substances

  • Levamisole