Investigating membrane protein dynamics in living cellsThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue, entitled CSBMCB — Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease.

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 825-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian R. Bates ◽  
Paul W. Wiseman ◽  
John W. Hanrahan

Live cell imaging is a powerful tool for understanding the function and regulation of membrane proteins. In this review, we briefly discuss 4 fluorescence-microscopy-based techniques for studying the transport dynamics of membrane proteins: fluorescence-correlation spectroscopy, image-correlation spectroscopy, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, and single-particle and (or) molecule tracking. The advantages and limitations of each approach are illustrated using recent studies of an ion channel and cell adhesion molecules.

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zdeněk Petrášek ◽  
Petra Schwille

Fluctuations in fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy have traditionally been regarded as noise—they lower the resolution and contrast and do not permit high acquisition rates. However, fluctuations can also be used to gain additional information about a system. This fact has been exploited in single-point microscopic techniques, such as fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and analysis of single molecule trajectories, and also in the imaging field, e.g. in spatio-temporal image correlation spectroscopy. Here, we discuss how fluctuations are used to obtain more quantitative information from the data than that given by average values, while minimizing the effects of noise due to stochastic photon detection.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (18) ◽  
pp. 3498-3507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urszula Golebiewska ◽  
Jason G. Kay ◽  
Thomas Masters ◽  
Sergio Grinstein ◽  
Wonpil Im ◽  
...  

To account for the many functions of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), several investigators have proposed that there are separate pools of PIP2 in the plasma membrane. Recent experiments show the surface concentration of PIP2 is indeed enhanced in regions where phagocytosis, exocytosis, and cell division occurs. Kinases that produce PIP2 are also concentrated in these regions. However, how is the PIP2 produced by these kinases prevented from diffusing rapidly away? First, proteins could act as “fences” around the perimeter of these regions. Second, some factor could markedly decrease the diffusion coefficient, D, of PIP2 within these regions. We used fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) to investigate these two possibilities in the forming phagosomes of macrophages injected with fluorescent PIP2. FCS measurements show that PIP2 diffuses rapidly (D ∼ 1 μm2/s) in both the forming phagosomes and unengaged plasma membrane. FRAP measurements show that the fluorescence from PIP2 does not recover (>100 s) after photobleaching the entire forming phagosome but recovers rapidly (∼10 s) in a comparable area of membrane outside the cup. These results (and similar data for a plasma membrane–anchored green fluorescent protein) support the hypothesis that a fence impedes the diffusion of PIP2 into and out of forming phagosomes.


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