title: Computer program for analyzing donor photobleaching FRET image series.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The photobleaching fluorescence resonance energy transfer (pbFRET) technique is a spectroscopic method to measure proximity relations between fluorescently labeled macromolecules using digital imaging microscopy. To calculate the energy transfer values one has to determine the bleaching time constants in pixel-by-pixel fashion from the image series recorded on the donor-only and donor and acceptor double-labeled samples. Because of the large number of pixels and the time-consuming calculations, this procedure should be assisted by powerful image data processing software. There is no commercially available software that is able to fulfill these requirements.
  
  
  METHODS
  New evaluation software was developed to analyze pbFRET data for Windows platform in National Instrument LabVIEW 6.1. This development environment contains a mathematical virtual instrument package, in which the Levenberg-Marquardt routine is also included. As a reference experiment, FRET efficiency between the two chains (beta2-microglobulin and heavy chain) of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I glycoproteins and FRET between MHC I and MHC II molecules were determined in the plasma membrane of JY, human B lymphoma cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The bleaching time constants calculated on pixel-by-pixel basis can be displayed as a color-coded map or as a histogram from raw image format.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this report we introduce a new version of pbFRET analysis and data processing software that is able to generate a full analysis pattern of donor photobleaching image series under various conditions. .
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gergely
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Szentesi
authors.forename: György
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vereb
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Horváth
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bodnár
authors.forename: Akos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fábián
authors.forename: János
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matkó
authors.forename: Rezso
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gáspár
authors.forename: Sándor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Damjanovich
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mátyus
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jenei
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D038761:Photobleaching; D012984:Software; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin