Fluorescence complementation technology with fluorescent proteins is a powerful approach to investigate molecular recognition by monitoring fluorescence enhancement when non-fluorescent fragments of fluorescent proteins are fused with target proteins, resulting in a new fluorescent complex. Extension of the technology to calcium-dependent protein–protein interactions has, however, rarely been r...

We previously described a mouse line that contains green myelomonocytic cells due to the knock-in of enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) into the lysozyme M gene.(1) We have now created a transgenic line with fluorescent erythroid cells using a beta-globin locus control region driving the enhanced cyan fluorescence protein (ECFP) gene. These mice exhibit cyan fluorescent cells specifical...

the herpes simplex virus type 1 (hsv-1) tegument protein, vp22 has been reported to have the property of intercellular transport. the previous studies have shown that following expression of a fusion protein containing vp22 it spreads to every cell in a monolayer and concentrates in the nucleus. in spite of these reports, some studies have shown that vp22 trafficking and its nucleus accumulatio...

Pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells have been studied extensively, but the events that occur during their differentiation remain largely uncharted. To develop a system that allows the differentiation of cultured multipotent progenitors by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy, myelomonocytic cells were labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) in vivo. This was achieved by knocking the enhance...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1) is a pleiotropic growth factor that has been demonstrated to protect against acute ischemic brain injury. Whether IGF-1 improves long-term functional outcome after ischemic stroke is not known. The aim of this study is to examine whether IGF-1 overexpression through adeno-associated virus (AAV) -mediated gene transfer enhances neurovas...

background: rna interference (rnai) is a phenomenon uses double-stranded rna (dsrna) to specifically inhibit gene expression. the non-specific silencing caused by interferon response to dsrna in mammalian cells limits the potential of utilizing rnai to study gene function. duplexes of 21-nucleotide short interfering dsrna (sirna) inhibit gene expression by rnai. in some organisms, sirna can als...

Exocytotic release of neuropeptides and hormones is generally believed to involve the complete merger of the secretory vesicle with the plasma membrane. However, recent data have suggested that "kiss-and-run" mechanisms may also play a role. Here, we have examined the dynamics of exocytosis in pancreatic MIN6 beta cells by imaging lumen- (neuropeptide Y/pH-insensitive yellow fluorescent protein...

The awarding of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, and Roger Tsien for their discovery and development of green fluorescent protein earns this humble jellyfish protein a place of honor in the biology research hall of fame.

References 1. Green P, Lipman D, Hillier L, Waterston R, States D, Claverie JM: Ancient conserved regions in new gene sequences and the protein databases. Science 1993, 259:1711–1716. 2. Koonin EV, Mushegian AR, Galperin MY, Walker DR: Comparison of archaeal and bacterial genomes: computer analysis of protein sequences predicts novel functions and suggests a chimeric origin for the archaea. Mol...