Fluorescence techniques for measuring kinetics of specific binding of hormone to cell surface receptors.

Abstract

This thesis presents theoretical calculations and technical advances relevant to total internal reflection/ fluorescence photobleaching recovery (tir/fpr), and results from experiments using tir/fpr to measure the dissociation rate constant of epidermal growth factor (egf) hormone interacting with its receptor molecule on A431 cells. The classical electromagnetic calculations describe fluorescence emission from fluorophores near an interface (possibly metal coated). It is well known that an interface alters the emission properties of nearby fluorophores. Most previous classical calculations model the fluorophore as a fixed-amplitude dipole oscillator. However, for fluorophores under steady illumination, a fixed-power dipole is more appropriate. This modification corresponds to normalizing the fixed-amplitude dipole's intensity by its total dissipated power. The results for the fixed-power model differ nontrivially from the fixed-amplitude model. The observation-angle-dependent intensity as a function of the fluorophore's orientation and distance from the surface is calculated. General expressions are derived for the emission power as observed through a circular-aperture collection system located on either side of the interface. A system for maintaining long-term focus of samples under high-magnification quantitative observation in an epi-illumination optical microscope is described. Focus-dependent changes in the backreflection of an off-axis HeNe laser generate negative feedback signals which drive a dc motor coupled to the fine-focus knob of the microscope. This system has several advantages: (1) it is compatible and nonobstructive with concurrent data acqusition of sample intensities; (2) it requires no alteration of the sample, stage, or objective; (3) it monitors the position of sample areas very near to those under observation; (4) it is inexpensive. The system can hold a glass coverslip sample to within 0.5 $\mu$m of its preset focus position. Prismless tir/fpr was used to measure a dissociation rate constant of about 0.010 sec$\sp{-1}$ for egf hormone interacting with its receptor on A431 cells. Comparison of this rate of reported rates of endocytosis suggests that egf interacts with more than one receptor before being endocytosed. It is not known if interaction without endocytosis activates the receptor. Bulk diffusion of hormone was taken into account.