Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is widely used as a method to investigate protein-protein interactions in living cells. A FRET pair donor fluorophore in close proximity to an appropriate acceptor fluorophore transfers emission energy to the acceptor, resulting in a shorter lifetime of the donor fluorescence. When the respective FRET donor and acceptor are fused with two proteins of interest, a reduction in donor lifetime, as detected by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), can be taken as proof of close proximity between the fluorophores and therefore interaction between the proteins of interest. Here, we describe the usage of time-domain FLIM-FRET in hypoxia-related research when we record the interaction of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) subunits HIF-1α and HIF-1β in living cells in a temperature- and CO2-controlled environment under the microscope.
Keywords: FLIM; FRET; Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy; Fluorescence resonance energy transfer; HIF-1; Hypoxia-inducible factor-1; Live cell imaging; Protein-protein interaction.