Nonspecific binding of common anti-CFTR antibodies in ciliated cells of human airway epithelium.

There is evidence that the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) anion channel is highly expressed at the apical pole of ciliated cells in human bronchial epithelium (HBE), however recent studies have detected little CFTR mRNA in those cells. To understand this discrepancy we immunostained well differentiated primary HBE cells using CFTR antibodies. We confirmed apical immunofluorescence in ciliated cells and quantified the covariance of the fluorescence signals and that of an antibody against the ciliary marker centrin-2 using image cross-correlation spectroscopy (ICCS). Super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) imaging localized the immunofluorescence in distinct clusters at the bases of the cilia. However, similar apical fluorescence was observed when the monoclonal CFTR antibodies 596, 528 and 769 were used to immunostain ciliated cells expressing F508del-CFTR, or cells lacking CFTR due to a Class I mutation. A BLAST search using the CFTR epitope identified a similar amino acid sequence in the ciliary protein rootletin X1. Its expression level correlated with the intensity of immunostaining by CFTR antibodies and it was detected by 596 antibody after transfection into CFBE cells. These results may explain the high apparent expression of CFTR in ciliated cells and reports of anomalous apical immunofluorescence in well differentiated cells that express F508del-CFTR.

Nanomolar Binding of Steroids to Cucurbit[n]urils: Selectivity and Applications.

Cucurbit[n]urils (CBn, n = 7, 8) serve as artificial receptors for steroids (21 tested), including the hormones testosterone and estradiol as well as steroidal drugs. Fluorescence displacement titrations and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) provided up to nanomolar binding affinities in aqueous solution for these hydrophobic target molecules, exceeding the values of known synthetic receptors. Remarkable binding selectivities, even for homologous steroid pairs, were investigated in detail by NMR, X-ray crystal diffraction, ITC, and quantum chemical calculations. Notably, the CBn•steroid complexes are stable in water and buffers, in artificial gastric acid, and even in blood serum. Numerous applications have been demonstrated, which range from the solubility enhancement of the steroids in the presence of the macrocycles (up to 100 times, for drug delivery) and the principal component analysis of the fluorescence responses of different CBn•reporter dye combinations (for differential sensing of steroids) to the real-time monitoring of chemical conversions of steroids as substrates (for enzyme assays).