Genetic tags for labelling live cells: gap junctions and beyond.
The availability of green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a tracer for observing proteins in living cells has revolutionized cell biology and spurred an intensive search for GFP variants with novel characteristics, additional autofluorescent proteins and alternative techniques of protein labelling. Two recent studies - one on tagging with tetracysteine motifs and labelling with biarsenic fluorophores of different colours, and the other on GFP tagging and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) - show how membrane channels are added and removed from gap junctions by using different fluorescent tags to distinguish between newly synthesized and older protein populations.
Falk
Matthias
M
Dept of Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. falk@scripps.edu
D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000906:Antibodies / Q000378:metabolism; D017630:Connexins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D036681:Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000378:metabolism; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*
D000906:Antibodies; D017630:Connexins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins