Visualization of molecular interactions at the nanometer scale

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25650062
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cell biology
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: FUJIMOTO Toyoshi 名古屋大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (50115929)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 生体膜 / 電子顕微鏡 / 膜タンパク質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Methods to visualize the location where two different proteins interact include fluorescence resonance energy transfer, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, and proximity ligation assay, but their spatial resolution is not high. In this study, we conceived an idea of a method based on quick-freezing and freeze-fracture replica labeling method. The principle of the method was: 1) tagging of biotinylation enzyme BirA and its acceptor peptide AcP to the cytoplasmic domain of two transmembrane proteins A and B, respectively; 2) biotinylation of AcP in freeze-fracture replicas; 3) immunolabeling and electron microscopic observation of biotins. Although various conditions were examined, satisfactory results were not obtained so far. Further trials using different conditions are needed.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学