Fluorescence microscopy protein labeling

Fluorescent labels, by contrast, can provide tremendous sensitivity due to their property of discrete emission of light upon excitation. Proteins, nucleic acids, and other molecules can be labeled with fluorescent probes to provide highly receptive reagents for numerous in vitro assay procedures. For instance, fluorescently tagged antibodies can be used to probe cells and tissues for the presence of particular antigens, and then detected through the use of fluorescence microscopy techniques. Since each probe has its own fluorescence emission character, more... 

AMCA may be coupled to amine-containing molecules through the use of the carbodiimide reaction using EDC (Chapter 3, Section 1.1). EDC will activate the carboxylate on AMCA to a highly reactive o-acylisourea intermediate. Attack by a nucleophilic primary amine group results in the formation of an amide bond (Figure 9.22). Derivatization of AMCA off its carboxylate group causes no major effects on its fluorescent properties. Thus, proteins and other macromolecules may be labeled with this intensely blue probe and easily detected by fluorescence microscopy and other techniques. 

The fluorescent labels reported for investigation of intracellular uptake and distribution by CLSM comprise Nile red [13], Texas Red, and 6-coumarin [14]. Not only for fluorescence microscopy but also for transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the loading of markers proved to be useful. Osmium tetroxid as an electron dense marker and bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein were entrapped in PLGA-nanoparticles to elucidate their uptake and intracellular distribution in human vascular smooth muscle cells [15]. 

Safiejko-Mroczka, B. and Bell, P. B. (1996) Bifunctional protein cross-linking reagents improve labeling of cytoskeletal proteins for qualitative and quantitative fluorescence microscopy. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 44,641-656. 

Proteomic Fluorescence microscopy In situ visualisation of cellular/ECM protein with fluorescence-labelled antibody Multiplexing capability (typically 3 fluorophores). Extra- and intracellular antigen location on opaque biomaterials. Issues with bleaching and autofluorescence. Yes/no... 

Figure 12.5 Nuclear import in permeabilized cells. HeLa cells were grown on coverslips and permeabilized with digitonin as described in Wilson et al., 1999. Fluorescein-PNA-labeled plasmids (containing the SV40 enhancer, 4.2 kb) or rhodamine-labeled BSA-NLS peptide conjugates were incubated with the cells for four hours at which time they were viewed by fluorescence microscopy. With no additions, neither DNA nor protein was imported, but in the presence of nuclear and cytoplasmic extracts both substrates localized to the nuclei. While plasmids containing the SV40 enhancer were taken up by the nuclei, those lacking the sequence were excluded. The remaining panels demonstrate the need for both the import machinery (importins and Ran) and a source of adapter proteins (nuclear extract) for plasmid nuclear entry, but not for protein nuclear localization.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and related fluorescent proteins can be used to label practically any protein or subcellular compartment of living cells (49). Transfection of cells with plasmids that encode appropriately targeted fluorescent fusion proteins has been used to define the plasma membrane, early endosomes, late endosomes, caveolae, the golgi complex, the ER, and other subcellular locations. Several fluorescent small molecules are also available for labehng specific cellular organelles, including endosomes and lysosomes, for analysis by fluorescence microscopy. 

---