Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

We present an improved monomeric form of the red fluorescent protein, mRFP1, as the acceptor in biological fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments using the enhanced green fluorescent protein as donor. We find particular advantage in using this fluorophore pair for quantitative measurements of FRET using multiphoton fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). The technique was exploited to demonstrate a novel receptor-kinase interaction between the chemokine receptor (CXCR4) and protein kinase C (PKC) alpha in carcinoma cells for both live- and fixed-cell experiments. The CXCR4-EGFP: PKCalpha-mRFP1 complex was found to be localized precisely to intracellular vesicles and cell protrusions when imaged by multiphoton fluorescence-FLIM. A comparison of the FRET efficiencies obtained using mRFP1-tagged regulatory domain or full-length PKCalpha as the acceptor revealed that PKCalpha, in the closed (inactive) form, is restrained from associating with the cytoplasmic portion of CXCR4. Live-cell FLIM experiments show that the assembly of this receptor:kinase complex is concomitant with the endocytosis process. This is confirmed by experimental evidence suggesting that the recycling of the CXCR4 receptor is increased on stimulation with phorbol ester and blocked on inhibition of PKC by bisindolylmaleimide. The EGFP-mRFP1 couple should be widely applicable, particularly to live-cell quantitative FRET assays.

Original publication

DOI

10.1529/biophysj.104.050153

Type

Journal article

Journal

Biophys J

Publication Date

02/2005

Volume

88

Pages

1224 - 1237

Keywords

Breast Neoplasms, Cell Line, Tumor, Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer, Green Fluorescent Proteins, Humans, Luminescent Proteins, Metabolic Clearance Rate, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton, Protein Kinase C, Receptors, CXCR4, Recombinant Fusion Proteins, Reproducibility of Results, Sensitivity and Specificity, Tissue Distribution