Profiling polyamine–protein interactions in live cells through photoaffinity labeling

Polyamines are essential metabolites that play a crucial role in regulating key cellular processes. While previous studies have shown that polyamines modulate protein function through non-covalent interactions, the lack of robust analytical methods has limited the systematic identification of these interactions in living cells. To address this challenge, we synthesized a series of novel photoaffinity probes and applied them to a model cell line, identifying over 400 putative protein interactors with remarkable polyamine analog structure-dependent specificity. Analysis of probe-modified peptides revealed photocrosslinking sites for dozens of protein binders and demonstrated that all but one of the probes, the spermine analog, were intracellularly stable. The interaction profiles of these probes were visualized through in-gel fluorescence scanning, and their subcellular localization was examined using fluorescence microscopy. Spermidine analogs interacted with proteins in the nucleoplasm, colocalizing with nucleolar and nuclear-speckle proteins, as well as in the cytoplasm. By contrast, diamine analogs localized to vesicle-like structures near the Golgi apparatus, implying that different polyamine types exhibit a proclivity for specific cellular compartments. Notably, spermidine analogs bound preferentially to proteins containing acidic stretches, often located within intrinsically disordered regions. Focusing on one such case, we provide <i>in-cellulo</i> evidence of direct interactions between G3BP1/2 and spermidine analogs and advance the hypothesis that such interactions influence stress-granule dynamics. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive profile of polyamine analogs-protein interactions in live cells, offering valuable insights into their roles in cellular physiology.