title: Cytotoxicity of red fluorescent protein DsRed is associated with the suppression of Bcl-xL translation.
abstract: Red fluorescent protein (RFP) DsRed and its variants are widely applied in live-cell imaging experiments. However, a major factor that restricts the application of DsRed is its cytotoxicity. Here, we report that DsRed and its variant DsRed-Express2 inhibit the expression of B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL) in HeLa cells by translational regulation. Over-expression of Bcl-xL can reduce the cytotoxicity of DsRed. Meanwhile, Turbo RFP, a mutant RFP from Entacmaea quadricolor, does not affect Bcl-xL expression, suggesting that cytotoxic mechanisms of RFP from different species may be varied. Our results reveal a possible mechanism for the cytotoxicity of DsRed, providing a potential strategy to improve the application of DsRed and its variants.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Cuihong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D016923:Cell Death; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000378:metabolism; D051020:bcl-X Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D051020:bcl-X Protein; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein