Development of molecular fluorescent probes for plasma membrane tension

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K14725
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cell biology
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: Tsujita Kazuya 神戸大学, バイオシグナル総合研究センター, 講師 (10457054)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 細胞膜の張力 / BARタンパク質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Tension in the plasma membrane plays an important roles in mechanical cellular functions, such as cell migration and division. however, it is unclear how plasma membrane tension regulates these processes in space and time. In this study, we identified membrane bending BAR domain of FBP17 as the probe for plasma membrane tension. Using the GFP-fusion probe combined with live imaging, we found that this probe dynamically localized to the plasma membrane by sensing the fluctuation of membrane tension during cell migration. Thus, this probe allows us to visualize a gradient of membrane tension in mechanical cellular processes.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学