Proximity Labeling of Cell Surface Proteins via Cell Surface Remodeling

Within the complex interplay of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates at the cell surface is the surfaceome, a dense layer of proteins and their posttranslationally modified counterparts that serves as a hub for cell signaling and signal transduction. The surfaceome plays crucial roles in mediating interactions between cells and the extracellular environment, which combined with their availability at the cell surface make it an attractive therapeutic target. Despite its importance, the development of technologies to selectively target cell surface proteins for empirical identification is challenged by their structural complexity. Here, we describe a proximity labeling-based technique to covalently label proteins at the cell surface with a biotin handle, enabling downstream streptavidin-based enrichment and manipulation in a variety of modalities, including fluorescence imaging, western blotting, and mass spectrometry-based proteomics.