Maximum likelihood-based estimation of diffusion coefficient is quick and reliable method for analyzing estradiol actions on surface receptor movements

Geza Makkai; Istvan M Abraham; Klaudia Barabas; Soma Godo; David Ernszt; Tamas Kovacs; Gergely Kovacs; Szilard Szocs; Tibor Z Janosi

doi:10.3389/fninf.2023.1005936

Maximum likelihood-based estimation of diffusion coefficient is quick and reliable method for analyzing estradiol actions on surface receptor movements

Front Neuroinform. 2023 Mar 8:17:1005936. doi: 10.3389/fninf.2023.1005936. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Geza Makkai^{1

2}, Istvan M Abraham^{1

3}, Klaudia Barabas^{1

3}, Soma Godo^{1

3}, David Ernszt^{1

3}, Tamas Kovacs^{1

3}, Gergely Kovacs^{1

3}, Szilard Szocs¹, Tibor Z Janosi^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
² Nano-Bio-Imaging Core Facility at the Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
³ Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.

Abstract

The rapid effects of estradiol on membrane receptors are in the focus of the estradiol research field, however, the molecular mechanisms of these non-classical estradiol actions are poorly understood. Since the lateral diffusion of membrane receptors is an important indicator of their function, a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms of non-classical estradiol actions can be achieved by investigating receptor dynamics. Diffusion coefficient is a crucial and widely used parameter to characterize the movement of receptors in the cell membrane. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between maximum likelihood-based estimation (MLE) and mean square displacement (MSD) based calculation of diffusion coefficients. In this work we applied both MSD and MLE to calculate diffusion coefficients. Single particle trajectories were extracted from simulation as well as from α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor tracking in live estradiol-treated differentiated PC12 (dPC12) cells. The comparison of the obtained diffusion coefficients revealed the superiority of MLE over the generally used MSD analysis. Our results suggest the use of the MLE of diffusion coefficients because as it has a better performance, especially for large localization errors or slow receptor movements.

Keywords: MLE; diffusion coefficient; maximum likelihood; mean square displacement; receptor movements.

Grants and funding

TKP2021-EGA-16 has been implemented with the support provided from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary, financed under the TKP2021-EGA funding scheme. DE was supported by the únkp-21-4-II new national excellence program of the ministry for innovation and technology from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund. SS acknowledges the support of National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary (TKP-2021-EGA-16).