Hi Maia, this review and website might be a good place to start:

http://analyticalultracentrifugation.com/images/AUCinProteinScience.pdf 
http://analyticalultracentrifugation.com/default.htm

Kushol 

Kushol Gupta, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Van Duyne Laboratory - HHMI/Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
kgu...@mail.med.upenn.edu
215-573-7260 / 267-259-0082


Hi ccp4bb

Could you please send me some references with the sedimentation 
equilibrium calculations of Kd, monomer/dimer ratio etc.

Maia

Maia Cherney wrote:
> Thank you. Now I understand the difference. I thought there was 
> separation.
>
> Maia
>
> Xuewu Zhang wrote:
>> Hi Maia,
>> I have seen your post regarding this before and I just want to point 
>> out that you may have confused "AUC" (analytical ultracentrifugation) 
>> with gradient-based ultra-centrifugation methods for separating 
>> macromolecules. AUC does not involve separation of different species 
>> in the sample. There are two types of AUCs: sedimentation velocity 
>> and sedimentation equilibrium. In sedimentation equilibrium 
>> experiments, the system reaches the equilibrium at the end, and the 
>> monomer/dimer ratio, Kd, etc parameters can be worked out by fitting 
>> the data to a model globally. The shape of the molecule does not 
>> matter. For starters:
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultracentrifuge
>>
>> Xuewu Zhang
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 10:37 AM, chern <ch...@ualberta.ca 
>> <mailto:ch...@ualberta.ca>> wrote:
>>
>>     Hi Anastassis,
>>          We are back to the same argument that AUC is not a good 
>> method. As
>>     everyone knows, it's a dynamic equilibrium between monomers and
>>     dimers that exists before separation. Once you started separation
>>     in any method, the equilibrium is disturbed now in each separated
>>     band. That will cause re-equilibration and constant migration of
>>     newly formed dimers from the monomer band and newly formed
>>     monomers from the dimer band. The t(eq) is the re-equilibration
>>     time.  Your method of separation of monomers and dimers should be
>>     quick enough before any re-equilibration occurs (t(sep)<<t(eq)).
>>     Otherwise, you get a mess and smearing of bands. Also, most
>>     conventional methods depend on shape etc. I find SEC is most
>>     convenient.
>>          Maia
>>                         
>>             ----- Original Message -----
>>             *From:* Anastassis Perrakis <mailto:a.perra...@nki.nl>
>>             *To:* chern <mailto:ch...@ualberta.ca>
>>             *Sent:* Monday, July 05, 2010 2:38 PM
>>             *Subject:* Re: [ccp4bb] monomeric coiled coil--updated
>>
>>
>>             On 5 Jul 2010, at 22:04, chern wrote:
>>
>>>             Hi, Anastassis
>>>             If you had just a monomer at  the start time then t(eq)
>>>             is the time to get to equilibrium with the dimer and vice
>>>             versa.
>>
>>             sorry to say but the definition of that time in a
>>             biophysical sense, is in my opinion equal to infinity and
>>             cannot be defined.
>>             I am being a bit pedantic here, but I am just saying that
>>             t(eq) cannot be defined, it can be approximated, and thus
>>             t(eq) is wrong to define.
>>             Why not talk about kD and kON and kOFF that have robust
>>             definitions based on kinetic properties and a physical
>>             meaning?
>>
>>>             When you separated the two bands (monomers and dimers) in
>>>             AUC, and then the equilibrium is quickly established in
>>>             each band again what's the point?  So, to be successful
>>>             in this method, you need to have t(eq) much lower than
>>>             the separation run. Ideally, if you could
>>>             separate monomers and dimers instantly and freeze them in
>>>             the separated state, then you can have good estimate of
>>>             the both fractions. I think this is clear.
>>
>>             But, I disagree and I think what you say is wrong. The
>>             equilibrium is dynamic. Why do you insist there is a point
>>             in 'separation'?
>>             The monomer changes to a dimer and vise versa in a
>>             continuous fashion. All you can say is that in a given
>>             concentration the equilibrium is shifted towards one or
>>             the other form. But its a dynamic one. Even at a
>>             concentration which is 50-50 between two states, the
>>             molecules that are in one state or another are changing
>>             according to kinetic parameters that are characteristic
>>             for the complex. Even at 100% - lets say of a dimer - by
>>             your definition, (100% cannot exist since its reached
>>             asymptotically by any derivation about equilibriums)
>>             molecules will fall to monomer and will reassemble to a
>>             dimer rapidly.
>>
>>             To be honest I think that talking about t(eq) is largely
>>             wrong in biophysical terms, since it does not exist.
>>
>>             A.
>>
>>>                                       That's what I meant.
>>>                          Maia
>>>
>>>                 ----- Original Message -----
>>>                 *From:* Anastassis Perrakis <mailto:a.perra...@nki.nl>
>>>                 *To:* chern <mailto:ch...@ualberta.ca>
>>>                 *Sent:* Monday, July 05, 2010 11:45 AM
>>>                 *Subject:* Re: [ccp4bb] monomeric coiled coil--updated
>>>
>>>
>>>                 On 5 Jul 2010, at 19:30, chern wrote:
>>>
>>>>                 Thank you for reply.
>>>>                                  1.It will be nice to have 
>>>> mass-spec method for
>>>>                 non-covalent complexes.
>>>
>>>                 Carol Robinson is doing these routinely ... so does
>>>                 Albert Heck
>>>
>>>>                                  2. 10nM solution is very dilute to 
>>>> catch most
>>>>                 complexes. So methods that work only for diluted
>>>>                 solutions are not reliable to determine the
>>>>                 multimeric state. What about  > 100 mkM solutions
>>>>                 for Kd`10^(-4)M?
>>>
>>>                 But its all matter of kD!! If my kD is 1nM, I will
>>>                 see it at 10 nM. If you have 1 mM kD, then you need
>>>                 100mM sample!
>>>                 Most methods you can measure what you want, its a
>>>                 sample preparation issue.
>>>
>>>>                                  3. For study of multimers in AUC. 
>>>> If you have two
>>>>                 separate bands, one of a monomer and one of a dimer,
>>>>                 there will be continuous association in the monomer
>>>>                 band and continuous dissociation in the dimer band
>>>>                 even while they are separating, so there will be
>>>>                 continuous migration between two bands and smearing.
>>>>                 That's what I meant. AUC never worked for
>>>>                 determination of multimeric state for me. I got many
>>>>                 times uninterpretable results. I know that it works
>>>>                 sometimes, most likely when teq>>tsep (who knows
>>>>                 what t(eq) is for different proteins), even with
>>>>                 some broadening of the bands. 
>>>
>>>                 I really do not agree with that. Are you talking
>>>                 about equlibrium or sedimentation runs? I agree it
>>>                 does not always work well, but that is mostly
>>>                 misbehaving samples over large times in eg the wrong
>>>                 temperature, rather than anything else. A complex
>>>                 with kOFF of about a minute or two can be measured
>>>                 over weeks in AUC, the one is unrelated to the other.
>>>                 btw, I still dont get what you mean t(eq). The only
>>>                 definition of the time you need to reach equilibrium
>>>                 in a system is infinity.
>>>
>>>                 A.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>                                                                    
>>>> Maia
>>>>
>>>>                     ----- Original Message -----
>>>>                     *From:* Anastassis Perrakis
>>>>                     <mailto:a.perra...@nki.nl>
>>>>                     *To:* CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
>>>>                     <mailto:CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>
>>>>                     *Sent:* Monday, July 05, 2010 9:36 AM
>>>>                     *Subject:* Re: [ccp4bb] monomeric coiled
>>>>                     coil--updated
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>                     On Jul 4, 2010, at 20:35, chern wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>                     It's an interesting discussion.
>>>>>                                          1.Usually it's not 
>>>>> possible to use mass-spec
>>>>>                     for non-covalent complexes.
>>>>
>>>>                     Native mass spec is well developed. I would hope
>>>>                     to give you my favorite reference,
>>>>                     but its for now pending, courtesy of some
>>>>                     reviewers in Mol. Cell. ;-)
>>>>                     Seriously now, native mass spec is a very nice
>>>>                     option and the work on non-covalent complexes
>>>>                     by Carol Robinson and others is good proof for 
>>>> that.
>>>>
>>>>>                      2. Most methods depend on macromolecule shape
>>>>>                     and concentration.
>>>>
>>>>                     Yes, but we need to be specific,  for
>>>>                     example, MALLS is shape independent, unlike SEC
>>>>                     which is size dependent.
>>>>                     I would add that most methods depend on having a
>>>>                     good estimate of concentration. The result you
>>>>                     get for your system, not the method itself,
>>>>                     is concentration dependent: eg MALLS is
>>>>                     perfectly fine for a 10nM complex, but utterly
>>>>                     useless for a 10mM "complex".
>>>>                     AUC has the advantage to work across a wide
>>>>                     range of expected kD's although some tuning is
>>>>                     needed.
>>>>
>>>>>                     3. SAXS method looks limited to me. It uses
>>>>>                     diluted monodisperse solutions. That excludes
>>>>>                     complexes that can associate/dissociate. How
>>>>>                     can you calculate Kd from it?
>>>>
>>>>                     Yes, although its not the best way. Since you do
>>>>                     measure at different concentrations, if you are
>>>>                     above-below the kD so in the low end
>>>>                     you have monomer and in the higher end dimer,
>>>>                     you can estimate well the kD.
>>>>
>>>>>                     4. All methods for determination of multimeric
>>>>>                     state using separation technique depend on
>>>>>                     three different cases: time of equilibrium
>>>>>                     (teq)>> time of separation (tsep), or teq <<
>>>>>                     tsep or teq ~ tsep. Even without equilibrium,
>>>>>                     you cannot have only one component. For a
>>>>>                     successful separation, you would want teq >>
>>>>>                     tsep, which is less likely in AUC method.
>>>>
>>>>                     I guess there is a confusion of two different
>>>>                     issues:
>>>>
>>>>                     1. Separation of multimers: To separate two
>>>>                     things, indeed as you put it, you want
>>>>                      teq>>tsep, and I would add that you want that
>>>>                     for a the concentration(s) that your separation
>>>>                     method works. In general, to separate two
>>>>                     things, you want to be at a concentration where
>>>>                     one state is clearly preferred over the other.
>>>>
>>>>                     2. Study of multimers: In AUC for example you
>>>>                     study the presence of multimers as a function of
>>>>                     time, so you can observe all kinds of multimers
>>>>                     and from their relative abundance you can study
>>>>                     the association characteristics.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>                     5. There are papers on capillary
>>>>>                     electrophoresis methods where they study
>>>>>                     exactly these effects (time of equilibrium vs
>>>>>                     time of separation).
>>>>
>>>>                     A.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>                                          Maia
>>>>>                                                                
>>>>>                     ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>                     From: "aidong" <a...@xmu.edu.cn
>>>>>                     <mailto:a...@xmu.edu.cn>>
>>>>>                     To: <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
>>>>>                     <mailto:CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>>
>>>>>                     Sent: Sunday, July 04, 2010 3:01 AM
>>>>>                     Subject: Re: [ccp4bb] monomeric coiled
>>>>>                     coil--updated
>>>>>
>>>>>                     > In light of several wonderful responses,I
>>>>>                     would like to provide an                      
>>>>> > update for this question:
>>>>>                     >                     > 1. I would agree that 
>>>>> SEC might not be able to
>>>>>                     identify monomer vs                      > 
>>>>> multimer forms for this likely rod-shaped protein.
>>>>>                     >                     > 2. It is extremely low 
>>>>> kd for dimer. AUC and
>>>>>                     SAXS experiments have                      > 
>>>>> measured its kd at ~0.1 mM.
>>>>>                     >                     > 3. MALS might not be 
>>>>> able to pick up dimer
>>>>>                     form since it might be only  
>>>>>                     > a few percent when the concentration is low.
>>>>>                     We might overcome                      > 
>>>>> concentration effect by direct injection to
>>>>>                     dawn heleos and refraction  
>>>>>                     > index.
>>>>>                     >                     > 4. Mass spec has found 
>>>>> both monomer and dimer
>>>>>                     forms although the                      > 
>>>>> abundance of each one is not known.
>>>>>                     >                     > 5. Intramolecular 
>>>>> coiled coil is quite
>>>>>                     possible since intermolecular  
>>>>>                     > dimer is unstable. We hope our structure might
>>>>>                     provide an answer.
>>>>>                     >                     > Many thanks for your 
>>>>> time and ideas
>>>>>                     >                     > Cheers
>>>>>                     >                     > Aidong
>>>>>                     >                     >                     > 
>>>>> On Jul 4, 2010, at 1:09 AM, Anastassis
>>>>>                     Perrakis wrote:
>>>>>                     >                     >> A few thoughts on 
>>>>> these, since I do not fully
>>>>>                     agree.
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> 1. Detection by light scattering is a method
>>>>>                     that can be used either                      
>>>>> >> without separation, or while separating.
>>>>>                     >> If you have a scattering detector, you can
>>>>>                     stick in a cuvette, or                      >> 
>>>>> stick it to the end of a column, your choice.
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> 2. Sec is not a good method to show if
>>>>>                     especially a coiled coil is  
>>>>>                     >> monomer-multimer. A long coil, will
>>>>>                     >> have a hydrodynamic radius bigger than its
>>>>>                     MW, thus any prediction                      
>>>>> >> based on SEC will be misleading,
>>>>>                     >> especially for this class of proteins.
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> 3. In AUC (although I am not an expert at it
>>>>>                     at all) I cant see the                      >> 
>>>>> connection between the disassociation time
>>>>>                     >> and the run time. In sedimentation or
>>>>>                     equilibrium runs, depending on  
>>>>>                     >> what you want to see, I think you can look
>>>>>                     >> at monomer-multimer equilibrium over a wide
>>>>>                     range of kD and                      >> 
>>>>> combinations of k(on) and k(off).
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> 4. The physiological concentration is a bit
>>>>>                     misleading. First, its                      >> 
>>>>> clear now that cells have microenvironments,
>>>>>                     >> and 'physiological' concentrations are hard
>>>>>                     to define. Also, in a                      >> 
>>>>> cell, I think (and I think others tend to agree)
>>>>>                     >> that kD plays little role at the end. kD is a
>>>>>                     combination of k(on) -                      >> 
>>>>> which is concentration dependent but in a cell
>>>>>                     >> very likely diffusion limited - and of k(off)
>>>>>                     which I think is what                      >> 
>>>>> matters most in the cell.
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> Going to Aidong's question, I think that
>>>>>                     MALLS was a good                      >> 
>>>>> experiment. The fact that these constructs do
>>>>>                     no associate,
>>>>>                     >> can mean that
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> a. the prediction is wrong - likely with
>>>>>                     these scores, but not                      >> 
>>>>> necessary
>>>>>                     >> b. the kD in solution is indeed higher that
>>>>>                     the concentration you                      >> 
>>>>> used for MALLS
>>>>>                     >> c. The constructs are not well chosen for
>>>>>                     some reason
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> You could use AUC to detect kD as high as
>>>>>                     ~100uM, depending on the                      
>>>>> >> concentration of the start sample of course.
>>>>>                     >> The next question will anyway be if that kD
>>>>>                     has any sort of                      >> 
>>>>> physiological significance - which you cannot
>>>>>                     tell by magnitude -
>>>>>                     >> so you are back at the drawing board for
>>>>>                     mutants. Three years later  
>>>>>                     >> the referees will still not believe it ...
>>>>>                     sorry, now it gets                      >> 
>>>>> personal,
>>>>>                     >> so I stop here.
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> My two cents.
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> A.
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >> On 3 Jul 2010, at 18:10, chern wrote:
>>>>>                     >>
>>>>>                     >>> The multimeric state depends on a protein
>>>>>                     concentration. You can                      
>>>>> >>> get any
>>>>>                     >>> multimer to dissociate if you dilute it to
>>>>>                     low enough                      >>> 
>>>>> concentration.  If
>>>>>                     >>> your complex is a homodimer, then
>>>>>                     Kdiss=[complex]/[monomer]^2.  
>>>>>                     >>> Let's say
>>>>>                     >>> your Kdiss~10^(-3)M,  and your protein
>>>>>                     concentration is ~10^(-4)M,  
>>>>>                     >>> then
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     
>>>>> [complex]=Kdiss/[monomer]^2=10^(-3)/10^(-4)^2=10^(-5),
>>>>>                     that means,                      >>> the dimer
>>>>>                     >>> concentration is approximately ~10 times
>>>>>                     less then the monomer                      >>> 
>>>>> concentration
>>>>>                     >>> at this particular protein concentration.
>>>>>                     Let's say, the mol weight                      
>>>>> >>> is 50
>>>>>                     >>> kDa, then at 5mg/ml you will have only about
>>>>>                     ~10% of the dimer. Of                      >>> 
>>>>> course,
>>>>>                     >>> if your Kdiss~10^(-4)M, then you will have
>>>>>                     approximately similar
>>>>>                     >>> concentrations of monomers and dimers at
>>>>>                     10^(-4).
>>>>>                     >>> Because this is a dynamic equlibrium between
>>>>>                     multimers and                      >>> 
>>>>> monomers, some
>>>>>                     >>> methods are not good for the determination
>>>>>                     of a multimeric state.                      
>>>>> >>> Some
>>>>>                     >>> reviewers demand to prove the multimeric
>>>>>                     state by size-exclusion
>>>>>                     >>> chromatography (SEC) or analytical
>>>>>                     centrifugation. The analytical
>>>>>                     >>> ultracentrifugation method will not work, as
>>>>>                     the characteristic                      >>> 
>>>>> time of the
>>>>>                     >>> dissociation/association is much lower than
>>>>>                     the centrifugation time                      
>>>>> >>> (`24
>>>>>                     >>> hours). The separated monomer will start
>>>>>                     association and the                      >>> 
>>>>> separated dimer
>>>>>                     >>> will start dissociation according to Kdiss
>>>>>                     and the bands will be                      >>> 
>>>>> smeared.
>>>>>                     >>> SEC is faster, like half an hour, it gives
>>>>>                     you a better chance. The                      
>>>>> >>> methods
>>>>>                     >>> without separation are the best Like light
>>>>>                     scattering), just make                      
>>>>> >>> protein
>>>>>                     >>> concentration high. Here comes the other
>>>>>                     question. What is the                      >>> 
>>>>> physiological
>>>>>                     >>> concentration. You want to be close to it. I
>>>>>                     read some literature                      >>> 
>>>>> on this
>>>>>                     >>> and it looks like it is between 10^-(4) to
>>>>>                     10^-(6) for majority of                      
>>>>> >>> proteins.
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     >>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>                     >>> From: "aidong" <a...@xmu.edu.cn
>>>>>                     <mailto:a...@xmu.edu.cn>>
>>>>>                     >>> To: <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
>>>>>                     <mailto:CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>>
>>>>>                     >>> Sent: Saturday, July 03, 2010 6:26 AM
>>>>>                     >>> Subject: [ccp4bb] monomeric coiled coil
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     >>>
>>>>>                     >>>> Sorry for this ccp4 unrelated question.
>>>>>                     >>>>
>>>>>                     >>>> We recently have a protein that a multicoil
>>>>>                     program
>>>>>                     >>>>
>>>>>                     
>>>>>
(http://groups.csail.mit.edu/cb/multicoil/cgi-bin/multicoil.cgi/cgi-bin/mult
icoil 
>>>>>
>>>>>                     >>>> ) predicts to have very high probability
>>>>>                     for dimer and trimer.                       
>>>>> >>>> Their
>>>>>                     >>>> scores are close to 0.4 and 0.6 for lengths
>>>>>                     of more than 60 amino                       
>>>>> >>>> acids.
>>>>>                     >>>> However, two constructs that cover this
>>>>>                     region have  demonstrated                      
>>>>> >>>> monomers
>>>>>                     >>>> in solutions by Multiangle light
>>>>>                     scattering?!    For the same  
>>>>>                     >>>> question, we
>>>>>                     >>>> could not get any response from this
>>>>>                     program  manager therefore we  
>>>>>                     >>>> turn to
>>>>>                     >>>> ccp4 for help.  We wonder whether some of 
>>>>>                     you might have similar
>>>>>                     >>>> experience. Thank you in advance.
>>>>>                     >>>>
>>>>>                     >>>> Sincerely,
>>>>>                     >>>>
>>>>>                     >>>> Aidong
>>>>>                     >>>>
>>>>>                     >
>>>>
>>>>                     *P** **please don't print this e-mail unless you
>>>>                     really need to*
>>>>                     Anastassis (Tassos) Perrakis, Principal
>>>>                     Investigator / Staff Member
>>>>                     Department of Biochemistry (B8)
>>>>                     Netherlands Cancer Institute, 
>>>>                     Dept. B8, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
>>>>                     Tel: +31 20 512 1951 Fax: +31 20 512 1954 Mobile
>>>>                     / SMS: +31 6 28 597791
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

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