License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: March 20, 2025
Last Modified: March 27, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 124797
Keywords: ASAPCRN
Funders Acknowledgements:
Aligning Science Across Parkinson's
Grant ID: ASAP-000282
Abstract
This protocol is based on Weber F, Hayer-Hartl M. Methods Mol Biol. (2000) and details how to efficiently monitor the prevention of rhodanese aggregation by the extracellular chaperone Clusterin using a spectrophotometer.
Materials
Buffers and reagents:
Rhodanese from bovine liver (Merck, R1756, MW 33,296 Da). Prepare a ~200 micromolar (µM) stock dilution in 20 millimolar (mM) MOPS-NaOH pH 7.4, 50 millimolar (mM) NaCl, divide into small aliquots, flash-freeze in liquid nitrogen and store at -80 °C.
Denaturation buffer: 6 Molarity (M) guanidinium-HCl, 5 millimolar (mM) DTT (in water or PBS, depending on the reaction buffer).
PBS 1x
Clusterin (see protocol “Clusterin purification from HEK293E cells”, dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.bvvkn64w) or any other chaperone.
Prevention of Rhodanese Aggregation Assay
Prevention of Rhodanese Aggregation Assay
Thaw and lyophilize a rhodanese aliquot using a SpeedVac concentrator.
Resuspend lyophilized rhodanese with denaturation buffer to a final concentration of 60 micromolar (µM) (D-Rhod).
Note
For example, a 20 µL aliquot at 8 µL pellet in 80.8 µL buffer. 1 µL of this stock will be used for each reaction.
Incubate at 25 °C for 01:00:00.
1h
Make Clusterin stocks at 30 micromolar (µM) and 90 micromolar (µM), for 1:1 and 1:3 D-Rhod:Clu molar ratios, respectively.
Prepare assay in a spectrophotometer microcuvette. Final volume 120 µL.
Use a spectrophotometer with temperature control of the cuvette compartment.
Equilibrate temperature at 25 °C.
Add 2 µL Clusterin stock at 30 micromolar (µM) or 90 micromolar (µM) (final concentration 0.5 µM or 1.5 µM) to the bottom of the cuvette.
Add 117 µL PBS buffer and mix gently with the pipette. Equilibrate at 25 °C in the cuvette compartment.
Note
NOTE: Other reaction buffers can be used to test the prevention of aggregation. For example, to test the prevention of aggregation of rhodanese by Clusterin at 5.2 use 20 millimolar (mM) Na-acetate 5.2, 150 millimolar (mM) NaCl, 2 millimolar (mM) CaCl2 buffer.
Add 1 µL of denatured rhodanese stock at 60 micromolar (µM) (final concentration 0.5 µM) to the reaction mix.
Immediately mix by vortexing shortly, place the cuvette in the spectrophotometer, press autozero and start measurement at 320 nm wavelength every 00:00:02.
Note
NOTE: Rhodanese rapidly aggregates once diluted in buffer. Clusterin at molar ratio D Rhod:Clu 1:3 almost completely prevents rhodanese aggregation.
Protocol references
Weber F, Hayer-Hartl M. Prevention of rhodanese aggregation by the chaperonin GroEL. Methods Mol Biol. 2000;140:111-5. doi: 10.1385/1-59259-061-6:111. PMID: 11484477.