Single‐Molecule Methods to Study Membrane Receptor Oligomerization |
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Authors: | Franziska Fricke Marina S Dietz Prof Dr Mike Heilemann |
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Institution: | Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Max‐von‐Laue‐Str. 7, 60438 Frankfurt (Germany) |
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Abstract: | Membrane receptors control fundamental cellular processes. Binding of a specific ligand to a receptor initiates communication through the membrane and activation of signaling cascades. This activation process often leads to a spatial rearrangement of receptors in the membrane at the molecular level. Single‐molecule techniques contributed significantly to the understanding of receptor organization and rearrangement in membranes. Here, we review four prominent single‐molecule techniques that have been applied to membrane receptors, namely, stepwise photobleaching, Förster resonance energy transfer, sub‐diffraction localization microscopy and co‐tracking. We discuss the requirements, benefits and limitations of each technique, discuss target labeling, present a selection of applications and results and compare the different methodologies. |
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Keywords: | localization microscopy membrane receptors single‐molecule FRET single‐molecule photobleaching super‐resolution microscopy |
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