Detection of Bax protein conformational change using a surface plasmon resonance imaging-based antibody chip

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2005 Dec 30;338(4):1834-8. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2005.10.155. Epub 2005 Nov 2.

Abstract

We describe an antibody chip technology that uses a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging system to examine the conformational change of a protein. In this study, we used Bax protein, a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins, as a model protein to investigate the conformational alteration triggered by a TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), a potent inducer of apoptosis. To develop the antibody chip for detecting the Bax conformational change, we immobilized Bax monoclonal antibody 6A7, which recognizes only a conformationally changed Bax protein on a gold surface. The resultant immobilized Bax antibodies provided specific and accurate measurements of the active conformation-specific epitope in the apoptotic cancer cells treated with the TRAIL; these measurements corresponded to the data obtained by immunoprecipitation analysis using an active conformation-specific Bax antibody (6A7). The results of our study indicated that TRAIL-induced Bax structural change could be monitored quickly and simply using an SPR imaging system, thus demonstrating the potential for using such a system for the analysis of conformational properties of target proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Apoptosis / physiology
  • Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / pharmacology
  • Cytochromes c / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / pharmacology
  • Protein Array Analysis
  • Protein Conformation* / drug effects
  • Protein Transport
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods*
  • TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / pharmacology
  • bcl-2-Associated X Protein / chemistry*
  • bcl-2-Associated X Protein / immunology

Substances

  • Antibodies
  • Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins
  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand
  • TNFSF10 protein, human
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • bcl-2-Associated X Protein
  • Cytochromes c