Spatiotemporal analysis of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate dynamics

Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) is a fundamental phosphoinositide that controls a variety of cellular processes, including signaling, membrane trafficking and intracellular lipid transport. Given the importance of PI4P, tools and methods for monitoring its dynamics are in high demand. We recently identified the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of oxysterol-binding protein-related protein 9 (ORP9) as a novel genetically encoded probe that enables high-contrast visualization of PI4P across multiple cellular membranes, including the plasma membrane (PM), Golgi, endosomes and lysosomes. Here, we describe methods for imaging and quantifying PI4P dynamics using ORP9-PH with standard confocal microscopy. These approaches include monitoring PI4P distribution at distinct cellular membranes, quantifying PI4P dynamics at the PM in response to pharmacological inhibition of PI 4-kinase and physiological activation of Gq-coupled G protein-coupled receptors. These methods offer a reliable approach for examining the spatial and temporal dynamics of PI4P in situ.