Fluorescence linear dichroism imaging for quantifying membrane order

Abstract

The plasma membrane of a cell is an ordered environment, giving rise to anisotropic orientations and restricted motion of constituent lipids and proteins. The membrane environment is also dynamic and heterogeneous, which is important for the regulation of membrane-localized signaling. A number of fluorescent microscopy approaches enable the membrane order to be quantified with high spatial and temporal resolution. A polarization-resolved fluorescence method, termed fluorescent linear dichroism (fLD) imaging, can quantify the orientation of membrane bound fluorophores which allows spatially resolved measurement of membrane order and sub-resolution membrane topology (ruffling). Here we describe the detailed methods for performing fLD imaging in biological membrane environments such as the plasma membrane of living cells. This includes the preparation of the sample with appropriate fluorescent dyes, the requirements of the microscope system, the data collection protocol, and post-acquisition image processing, analysis, and interpretation.