Super-resolution imaging of aquaporin-4 orthogonal arrays of particles in cell membranes

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is a water channel expressed in astrocytes, skeletal muscle and epithelial cells that forms supramolecular aggregates in plasma membranes called orthogonal arrays of particles (OAPs). AQP4 is expressed as a short isoform (M23) that forms large OAPs, and a long isoform (M1) that does not form OAPs by itself but can mingle with M23 to form relatively small OAPs. AQP4 OAPs were imaged with similar to 20 nm spatial precision by photoactivation localization microscopy (PALM) in cells expressing chimeras of M1- or M23-AQP4 with photoactivatable fluorescent proteins. Native AQP4 was imaged by direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) using a primary anti-AQP4 antibody and fluorescent secondary antibodies. We found that OAP area increased from 1878 +/- 747 to 3647 +/- 958 nm(2) with decreasing M1:M23 ratio from 1:1 to 1:3, and became elongated. Two-color dSTORM indicated that M1 and M23 co-assemble in OAPs with a M1-enriched periphery surrounding a M23-enriched core. Native AQP4 in astrocytes formed OAPs with an area of 2142 +/- 829 nm(2), which increased to 5137 +/- 1119 nm(2) with 2-bromopalmitate. PALM of AQP4 OAPs in live cells showed slow diffusion (average similar to 10(-12) cm(2)/s) and reorganization. OAP area was not altered by anti-AQP4 IgG autoantibodies (NMO-IgG) that cause the neurological disease neuromyelitis optica. Super-resolution imaging allowed elucidation of novel nanoscale structural and dynamic features of OAPs.