Methods and systems for detection of stoichiometry by Förster resonance energy transfer

1. A method to detect one or more stoichiometries of a protein complex, the method comprising:

providing theoretically calculated Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiencies for the one or more stoichiometries of the protein complex;

performing FRET imaging on a region of interest expressing fluorescently labeled oligomer subunits of the protein complex to provide an acquired FRET image, the acquired FRET image having a plurality of pixels each pixel having a FRET signal amplitude;

calculating mean FRET efficiencies from the FRET signals amplitudes; and

correlating the calculated mean FRET efficiencies with the theoretically calculated FRET efficiencies to detect the one or more stoichiometries of the protein complex.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the calculating is performed by compiling a FRET distribution of the identified FRET amplitudes and the correlating is performed by identifying in the FRET distribution, FRET distribution components based on the theoretically calculated FRET efficiencies.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the region of interest comprises a plurality of regions.

4. A method to identify a compound capable of regulating a plasma membrane protein complex, the method comprising:

detecting alternative stoichiometries of the protein complex in a region of interest with the method of claim 1 ;

quantifying a ratio of the detected alternative stoichiometries of the protein complex in the region of interest;

contacting the protein complex in the region of interest with a candidate compound; and

quantitatively detecting changes in the quantified ratio of detected alternative stoichiometries of the protein complex in the region of interest following contact of the candidate compound; and

identifying the candidate compound as a compound capable of regulating a plasma membrane protein complex based on the changes in the quantified ratio of detected alternative stoichiometries of the protein complex in the region of interest following contact of the candidate compound.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the region of interest is formed by a plurality of regions and corresponding changes in various regions of interest are associated with a regulated status of the protein complex.

6. A method to identify a compound capable of functionally regulating a plasma membrane protein complex, the method comprising:

providing one or more stoichiometries of the plasma membrane protein complex;

incubating a cell expressing the plasma membrane protein complex with a candidate compound;

quantitatively detecting the one or more stoichiometries of the plasma membrane protein complex following the incubating, the quantification performed with the method of claim 1 ;

comparing the one or more quantitatively detected plasma membrane protein complex stoichiometries with predetermined quantified stoichiometries associated with a regulation state of the plasma membrane protein complex; and

identifying the candidate compound capable of regulating a plasma membrane protein complex based on the association of the one or more quantitatively detected plasma membrane protein complex stoichiometries with the predetermined quantified stoichiometries associated with the regulation state of the plasma membrane protein complex.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the quantitative detection of the one or more stoichiometries is repeated in increments of time.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the calculating is performed by:

compiling a distribution of identified FRET amplitudes as a function of a number of pixels associated with each FRET amplitude;

and the correlating is performed by

identifying on the FRET distribution one or more components, each component associated with a predetermined stoichiometry;

detecting the one or more mean FRET amplitudes associated with the one or more stoichiometries based on the identified one or more components; and

quantifying the one or more stoichiometries as a percentage of the total population of stoichiometries by dividing the area of the one or more components associated with the one or more stoichiometry by the area of the distribution.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein said identified candidate compound is a compound identified as beneficial to the fields of human and veterinary medicine.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein said identified candidate compound is an effective smoking cessation therapies, a treatment for Parkinson's Disease or Autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (ADNFLE) or an antihelmintic that targets specific stoichiometries of nAChRs expressed in the nerves and muscle of parasitic nematodes that infect humans or livestock.

11. A method to detect interactions of protein complexes with another protein, the method comprising:

detecting one or more stoichiometries of the protein complex with the method of claim 1 , wherein

identification of mean FRET efficiencies uncorrelated with the theoretically calculated FRET efficiencies indicates interaction with of the protein complex with the another protein.