Close Encounters - Probing Proximal Proteins in Live or Fixed Cells

Peter Lönn; Ulf Landegren

doi:10.1016/j.tibs.2017.05.003

Close Encounters - Probing Proximal Proteins in Live or Fixed Cells

Trends Biochem Sci. 2017 Jul;42(7):504-515. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2017.05.003. Epub 2017 May 28.

Authors

Peter Lönn¹, Ulf Landegren²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 815, SE-751 08, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: peter.lonn@igp.uu.se.
² Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 815, SE-751 08, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: ulf.landegren@igp.uu.se.

PMID: 28566215
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2017.05.003

Abstract

The well-oiled machinery of the cellular proteome operates via variable expression, modifications, and interactions of proteins, relaying genomic and transcriptomic information to coordinate cellular functions. In recent years, a number of techniques have emerged that serve to identify sets of proteins acting in close proximity in the course of orchestrating cellular activities. These proximity-dependent assays, including BiFC, BioID, APEX, FRET, and isPLA, have opened up new avenues to examine protein interactions in live or fixed cells. We review herein the current status of proximity-dependent in situ techniques. We compare the advantages and limitations of the methods, underlining recent progress and the growing importance of these techniques in basic research, and we discuss their potential as tools for drug development and diagnostics.

Keywords: APEX; BioID; BirA; FRET; PLA; protein interaction; proteomics; proximity assays.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Biosensing Techniques
Cell Survival
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
Humans
Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques
Principal Component Analysis
Proteins / analysis*
Proteins / metabolism*
Tissue Fixation*

Substances

Proteins