This protocol describes how to establish a reporter system that can be used to identify and quantify receptor-ligand interactions.
Interactions between receptors and ligands constitute a fundamental biological process. However, direct experiments with cells that express the native receptor and the ligand are challenging since the ligand of a specific receptor may be unknown and experimental procedures with the native ligand can be technically complicated. To address these obstacles, we describe a reporter system to detect the binding and activation of a specific receptor by a ligand of interest. In this reporter system, the extracellular domain of a specific receptor is conjugated to mouse CD3ζ and this chimeric protein is then expressed in mouse BW cells. These transfected BW cells can then be incubated with different targets (e.g., cells or antibodies). Activation of a transfected receptor leads to the secretion of mouse interleukin-2 (mIL-2) which can be detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This reporter system has the advantages of being sensitive and specific to a single receptor. In addition, the activation level of a specific receptor can easily be quantified and can be used even in cases where the ligand of the receptor is unknown. This system has been implemented successfully in many of our studies to characterize receptor-ligand interactions. We have recently employed this system to study the activation of human Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) by different monoclonal anti-CD20 antibodies in clinical use.
The BW reporter system is a technique for studying receptor-ligand interactions1. This system is especially advantageous when the ligand of a specific receptor is unknown or experiments with the endogenous ligand are technically difficult. It can also be used for studying the binding of monoclonal antibodies to human FcγRs. The method is based on expressing a chimeric protein in mouse BW cells. This chimeric protein is composed of the extracellular domain of the receptor of interest fused to the transmembrane and intracellular domains of the mouse ζ chain. Binding of appropriate ligands of the receptor leads to secretion of mouse IL-2, which can be easily detected by ELISA, as illustrated in Figure 1. This method is sensitive and specific to an individual receptor, easy to operate, and highly reproducible. It can thus complement additional tools for studying receptor-ligand interactions. For example, it can be used to screen several cell lines for the presence of a ligand for a specific receptor (even if the ligand itself has not been identified) or to detect the activation of human FcγRs by monoclonal antibodies or by human serum containing anti-viral antibodies. Although primary immune cells express endogenous FcγRs, they are generally difficult to handle and usually express several Fc receptors.
We have used this system successfully in many of our studies to characterize receptor-ligand interactions. These include identifying haemagglutinin as the ligand of the NK cell receptor NKp462, identifying PVR and nectin-2 as ligands for human and mouse TIGIT3,4, and showing that the fusobacterium nucleatum bacterium binds and activates human TIGIT5. In addition, BW cells that express Fc receptors have been used successfully to detect anti-viral antibodies in patients' sera6,7,8. Specifically, we recently established BW cells that express human FcγRs to detect differential FcR activation of anti-CD20 antibodies used for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)9. Importantly, the results of the BW reporter system have been validated in complementary experiments.
1. Generation of a Plasmid that Expresses the Chimeric Construct
NOTE: The aim is to generate a plasmid that expresses the extracellular domain of the receptor of interest fused to the transmembrane and intracellular domains of the mouse CD3ζ chain (Figure 2A).
2. Transfection of the Plasmid that Expresses the Chimeric Protein into BW Cells
NOTE: Different methods can also be employed for transfection (e.g., by lentiviral infection). Prior to the electroporation, perform ethanol precipitation of the DNA as described below. The next steps require sterile conditions.
3. Verification of the Expression of the Transfected Receptor in Cells in the Positive Wells.
4. Incubation of the Transfected BW Cells with Targets
NOTE: When using the transfected BW cells for the first time, it is preferable to test them on targets that express a known ligand of the receptor of interest or on plate-bound antibodies specifically directed against the receptor of interest (cross-linking experiments; see below, section 4.2.1.3).
5. ELISA
Figure 3 illustrates the results of an experiment with a BW reporter system. In this experiment, CLL cells were pre-incubated with different anti-CD20 antibodies (rituximab and obinutuzumab) and then co-incubated with transfected BW cells which express CD16a-CD3ζ. Similar experiments were conducted in our study9. Figure 3A presents an image of a raw ELISA plate where the color intensity corresponds to a concentration of mIL-2. The experiment was performed in triplicate. This experiment included several controls: CLL cells incubated with parental untransfected BW cells (upper row) and CLL cells incubated with BW cells which express CD16a-CD3ζ but without an antibody or with a control antibody (six wells in the second row on the left). The incubation of BW cells that expressed CD16 with CLL cells that were pre-incubated with anti-CD20 antibodies induced a significant secretion of mIL-2 compared to the mIL-2 level of the control wells. Importantly, pre-incubation of the CLL cells with the anti-CD20 obinutuzumab activated CD16 more strongly than rituximab, a known finding which was recapitulated by our system. The last row shows descending pre-defined concentrations of recombinant mIL-2 (without the addition of cells). The right well in the last row does not have mIL-2 and represents the background reading, which appears similar to the control wells. Figure 3B presents the quantification of the results of the ELISA plate shown in Figure 3A. The optical density (OD) levels were converted into mIL-2 concentrations based on the standard curve with recombinant mIL-2. Figure 3C presents a dose response experiment where different doses of antibodies were pre-incubated with CLL cells and then incubated with BW cells expressing CD16.
Figure 1: Schematic representation of the BW reporter system. BW5147 cells are stably transfected with the extracellular portion of different receptors fused to the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of the mouse CD3ζ chain (chimeric recptor-CD3ζ). Activation of a specific receptor-CD3ζ by a ligand results in a secretion of mIL-2 which can be detected by ELISA. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: The structure of the chimeric receptor-CD3ζ and the design of PCR primers. (A) General structure of an extracellular receptor fused to the transmembrane and intracellular domains of mouse CD3ζ. (B) The extracellular domain of the receptor was amplified with a 3' primer which also included nucleotides of CD3ζ. (C) The intracellular and transmembrane domains of CD3ζ were amplified with a 5' primer that also included receptor nucleotides. (D) In the final PCR reaction, both segments, which have overlapping sequences, were used as the DNA template. In all figure panels, different protein domains are color-coded and boxed in blue rectangles (CD3ζ sequence) and red rectangles (the receptor sequence). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: Illustration of the final product of the BW reporter system. (A, B, C) CLL cells were pre-incubated with or without two anti-CD20 antibodies (rituximab and obinutuzumab) or a control antibody. Afterwards, the antibody-bound cells were incubated with parental BW cells or BW cells which express CD16a-CD3ζ. The level of mIL-2 in the supernatant was determined by ELISA. (A) An image of a raw ELISA plate. Color intensity indicates the concentration of mIL-2 in the supernatant. The experiment was performed in triplicate. The lower row shows the ELISA readout in decreasing concentrations of recombinant mIL-2 which were analyzed in the same plate. (B) Quantification of the ELISA reading shown in (A). The mIL-2 levels were calculated using a standard curve of mil-2. (C) A dose response experiment where different doses of antibodies were pre-incubated with CLL cells and then incubated with BW cells expressing CD16a-CD3ζ. ***, P < 0.001; Student's t test (B) or ANOVA with multiple comparisons (C). The only comparison in (C) which was not significantly different was for rituximab and the control Ab in the first concentration (0.01 µg/mL). Error bars represent the standard deviation of the triplicates. Similar experiments were conducted as part of one of our recent study9. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Here we present a protocol for generating a reporter system to investigate receptor-ligand interactions (see an abbreviated form of this protocol in1). The protocol is composed of three main parts: cloning of a chimeric protein, which includes the extracellular domain of a specific receptor fused to the intracellular domain of CD3ζ, transfection of a plasmid that expresses the fusion protein to BW cells (e.g., by electroporation), and quantitative detection of mouse IL-2 by ELISA. The final product of each of these parts should be verified independently: the cloning process should be verified by complete sequencing of the fusion protein in the target plasmid, the transfection of the BW cells should be verified by examining the expression of the receptor of interest in the BW cells (e.g., by flow cytometry), and the ELISA process should be verified by general positive controls (e.g., recombinant mIL-2) as well as with specific controls for the transfected BW cells; i.e., targets that express a known ligand of the receptor of interest (e.g., cells that express CD48 can be used as a positive control for BW cells that express the NK cell receptor 2B4). For instance, the cloning process may be successful, but the fusion protein is not expressed by the BW cells. In this case, the electroporation should be repeated. Alternatively, if there is no signal above the background level of the ELISA plate (especially for the positive controls) the transfected BW cells may have failed to express the receptor (or the expression has been lost) or a technical problem may have occurred during the ELISA process.
Several modifications can be made to this protocol while preserving the general principles of the procedure. These modifications include the vector used to express the fusion protein, the method for transfecting the plasmid to BW cells and specific parameters related to the incubation and ELISA such as the type of target (e.g., cells, antibodies, etc.), number of target cells or the antibody concentration if relevant (we use 50,000 cells per well and an antibody starting dose of 0.5 µg/well), incubation time (we use an incubation time of 48 h) and the supernatant volume which is transferred to the ELISA plate.
This method is sensitive, specific and can be easily quantified. It is ideal for screening for the presence of ligands for specific receptors (especially if the ligand itself has not been recognized). After preparing transfected BW cells that express a specific receptor, these cells can be frozen and used when needed for additional experiments. We and others have used this system successfully in previous studies to explore receptor-ligand interactions (for example2,3,5,12,13,14,15,16) and the results obtained by this system have been verified by other techniques. This method can also be used to study the activation of different human FcγR receptors by antibodies, as has been done for anti-viral antibodies in serum6,7,8 or with monoclonal antibodies against CD209.
Since this is a reporter system in which only the extracellular segment of the receptor is expressed, the findings obtained by this system should be complemented by additional experiments with the endogenous receptor, such as cytotoxicity assays with natural killer (NK) cells to study interactions with NK cell receptors. Moreover, certain ligand/receptor interactions may not result in a mIL-2 secretion by the reporter system, and therefore might be overlooked. In addition, as in any experimental setup, the results should be verified for various parameters as described above. This is especially important in cases where a comparison of two conditions is required (e.g., activation of the same Fc receptor by different antibodies). It is also important to verify that the sensitivity of a specific ligand-receptor interaction is within the linear range of the system. Otherwise this could lead to saturation values which may preclude a valid comparison across conditions. This can be achieved by using a mIL-2 standard curve as well as by generating a dose-response curve with the tested ligand (in the case of saturating values, the experimental parameters should be modified; e.g., a smaller volume of supernatant should be analyzed by ELISA). Another possible limitation of this system is the use of target cells with endogenous secretions of mIL-2 (e.g., mouse T cells) which would mask the IL-2 secretion of BW cells. To overcome these highly unusual occurrences which are confined to mouse cells, this reporter system could be improved by using a different reporter (e.g., GFP) which is not expressed by the target cells.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
The authors thank Esther Singer for language editing. This study was supported by the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) / ERC Grant Agreement number 320473-BacNK. Further support was provided by the I-CORE Program of the Planning and Budgeting Committee and the Israel Science Foundation and by the I-Core on Chromatin and RNA in Gene Regulation, the GIF Foundation, the Lewis Family Foundation, the ICRF professorship grant, the Helmholtz Israel grant and the Rosetrees Trust (all to O.M.). This study was also supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant 502/15), the Kass Medical Research Award and a research grant from the Israel Society of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine (to S.E). O.M is a Crown professor of Molecular Immunology.
AccuPrep, Plasmid Mini Extraction Kit | Bioneer | K-3030 | |
Anti-mouse IL-2 | BioLegend | 503702 | |
Biotin anti-mouse IL-2 | BioLegend | 503804 | |
ELISA plates | De-groot | 60-655061 | |
Fetal Bovine Serum | Sigma | F7524-500ml | |
G418 | Mercury | MBS3458105GM | |
Gene Pulser II | Bio-Rad | 165-2105, 165-2106, 165-2107, 165-2108, 165-2109, 165-2110 | |
L-Glutamine | Biological industry | 03-020-1B | |
MEM Non-Essential Amino Acids Solution | Biological industry | 01-340-1B | |
Penicillin-Streptomycin Solution | Biological industry | 03-031-1B | |
peroxidase streptavidin | Jackson ImmunoResearch | 016-030-084 | |
PureLink HiPure Plasmid Filter Maxiprep Kit | ThermoFisher Scientific | K210016 | |
RPMI-1640 Medium | Biological industry | 30-2001 | |
Sodium Pyruvate | Biological industry | 03-042-1B | |
TMB | SouthernBiothech | 0410-01 |