绿色荧光蛋白质(GFP)的发现、表达和发展

本文简要地介绍了2008年Nobel化学奖——绿色荧光蛋白质的主要学术内容,包括绿色荧光蛋白质的发现、发展和工作的重要意义.类-绿色荧光蛋白质可用于在时间和空间上监视越来越多的活细胞中的现象和机制,如基因表达、蛋白质的定位和动态学等.因此可以说,绿色荧光蛋白质的发现是联系到生物科学上的一次技术革命.     

荧光蛋白结构改造及其生物传感应用

荧光蛋白自发现以来,因其具有基因编码、可以自主发出稳健荧光的特点,在生命科学领域中发挥着重要作用.随着对荧光蛋白的结构和功能有了更清晰的认识,在蛋白质工程技术和有机合成迅速发展的基础上,科研工作者可以对荧光蛋白的结构进行设计改造和模拟,赋予其新的性质和功能,扩宽其在生物传感、生物成像等生命领域的应用.本文以绿色荧光蛋白的结构改造为主线,从局部结构改变、桶状结构重构和表面重构等不同层面阐述了荧光蛋白结构改造的方法以及荧光蛋白模拟物的研究进展,并介绍了这些荧光蛋白及其模拟物在生物领域的代表性应用.     

多肽荧光探针在蛋白质检测中的应用

荧光探针法是痕量蛋白质检测的重要方法,其中多肽荧光探针得到了广泛的应用.本文综述了3种主要类型多肽荧光探针,即单荧光标记探针、双荧光标记探针和与其他材料形成复合物的探针的结构特点、检测原理以及不同类型多肽荧光探针在蛋白质定性、定量检测和酶活性测定等方面的应用,并对多肽荧光探针的未来发展方向进行了展望.     

生命内部世界变得五颜六色－－绿色荧光蛋白质改进者钱永健简介

钱永健由于在绿色荧光蛋白质改进方面的重要贡献而分享2008年诺贝尔化学奖,此外还发明了Ca2+染料,这2项成就在生命科学研究中得到了广泛的应用,钱永健也成为生命科学领域的科学大师之一,本文对钱永健的生平进行简单介绍。     

磺化竹红菌素对蛋白质荧光猝灭机理的研究

本文详细研究了磺化竹红菌素对多种蛋白质在溶液状态下的荧光猝灭过程。结果表明,磺化竹红菌素对多种蛋白质荧光猝灭服从Stern-Volmer曲线,实验观察了温度、粘度、pH值和盐酸胍对荧光猝灭过程的影响。由于磺化竹红菌素是一两性分子,对于不同蛋白具有不同猝灭过程;磺化竹红菌素对蛋白质的荧光猝灭常数K_q在10¹³mol/L·s^-1左右,这说明,磺化竹红菌素是一种比其它蛋白质荧光猝灭剂更加有效的荧光猝灭剂。     

囊泡型荧光纳米界面的构建及其对CD44蛋白的比例型传感

本文设计合成了两亲性Eu(Ⅲ)配合物(Eu L^3+)、两亲性香豆素衍生物(CA)以及荧光素修饰的透明质酸(HA-FA).Eu L^3+和CA可在水中共组装形成带正电荷的囊泡型荧光纳米界面(Eu L^3+/CA).HA-FA可通过静电引力络合在Eu L^3+/CA表面,促使CA与FA之间发生有效的荧光共振能量转移,体系的荧光发射以荧光素的绿色荧光为主.当肿瘤细胞标识物CD44蛋白与络合在囊泡表面上的透明质酸发生特异相互作用后,降低了CA与FA之间的能量转移效率,体系的荧光发射从绿色转变为蓝色.据此,实现了对CD44的高灵敏检测(DL=1.79×10^-7g/m L),而所测试的氨基酸、蛋白质等生物分子几乎不对荧光纳米界面的荧光性质产生影响.基于此,我们成功地将Eu L^3+/CA/HA-FA用于人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7和MDA-MB-231悬浮液中CD44蛋白的高效检测,该工作为构建新型CD44蛋白荧光探针提供了思路,为癌症早期诊断和治疗奠定了基础.     

碳量子点荧光成像法应用于聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳检测人血清蛋白质的研究

建立了碳量子点荧光成像法检测聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳分离蛋白质如人血清蛋白质的新方法. 通过一步绿色微波法合成的碳量子点并将其应用在聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳分离蛋白质的检测中, 通过醋酸-醋酸钠调节孵育溶液, 优化pH值、碳量子点的用量及孵育溶液的浓度等条件, 使碳量子点和蛋白质相结合并在365 nm的紫外灯照射下得到了清晰的人血清蛋白电泳图, 该新方法具有原料便宜易得、无污染、简单、快速、高灵敏度、低背景及高分辨率的优点, 在生物技术方面和纳米技术方面具有巨大的应用前景.     

荧光法研究酚藏花红与牛血清白蛋白的相互作用

用荧光光谱、同步荧光光谱和紫外吸收光谱研究了牛血清白蛋白与酚藏花红的结合反应特征。在不同的pH条件下,酚藏花红与蛋白质的反应导致了蛋白质荧光猝灭及酚藏花红的荧光增强,其荧光猝灭值与酚藏花红的浓度成正比,可用于酚藏花红的分析测定;而酚藏花红荧光增强值与蛋白质浓度成正比,又可用于蛋白质的分析测定。用Stern-Volmer方程和Lineweaver-Burk双倒数函数处理实验数据,得到10℃和20℃时动态猝灭常数和静态猝灭结合常数、反应的热力学参数和结合位点数。根据F彲ster能量转移原理计算出20℃时酚藏花红与牛血清白蛋白的结合距离为r=2.22 nm。     

荧光光谱在蛋白质分子构象研究中的应用*

荧光光谱法是研究蛋白质在水溶液中分子构象的一种有效方法。文章综述了常见的蛋白质荧光光谱的研究方法, 并介绍了几种荧光光谱新技术。     

蛋白质分子荧光探针研究及其应用新进展

人体中多达10万种以上的蛋白质结构,功能千差万别,形成了生命的多样性和复杂性。在分子水平上分析和识别蛋白质对生命科学研究具有重要的理论和实践意义。本文综述了各种蛋白质分子荧光探针在蛋白质分析方面的应用,并展望了此类荧光探针的发展趋势和应用前景。引用文献60篇。     

Nanobody‐Conjugated Nanotubes for Targeted Near‐Infrared In Vivo Imaging and Sensing

Fluorescent nanomaterials such as single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have many advantages in terms of their photophysics, but it is difficult to target them to specific locations in living systems. In contrast, the green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been genetically fused to proteins in many cells and organisms. Therefore, GFP can be seen not only as a fluorophore but as a universal target/handle. Here, we report the conjugation of GFP‐binding nanobodies to DNA‐wrapped SWCNTs. This approach combines the targeting capabilities of GFP‐binding nanobodies and the nonbleaching near‐infrared fluorescence (850–1700 nm) of SWCNTs. These conjugates allow us to track single Kinesin‐5‐GFP motor proteins in developing embryos of Drosophila melanogaster. Additionally, they are sensitive to the neurotransmitter dopamine and can be used for targeted sensing of dopamine in the nm regime.     

Covalent Attachment of Cyclic TAT Peptides to GFP Results in Protein Delivery into Live Cells with Immediate Bioavailability

The delivery of free molecules into the cytoplasm and nucleus by using arginine‐rich cell‐penetrating peptides (CPPs) has been limited to small cargoes, while large cargoes such as proteins are taken up and trapped in endocytic vesicles. Based on recent work, in which we showed that the transduction efficiency of arginine‐rich CPPs can be greatly enhanced by cyclization, the aim was to use cyclic CPPs to transport full‐length proteins, in this study green fluorescent protein (GFP), into the cytosol of living cells. Cyclic and linear CPP–GFP conjugates were obtained by using azido‐functionalized CPPs and an alkyne‐functionalized GFP. Our findings reveal that the cyclic‐CPP–GFP conjugates are internalized into live cells with immediate bioavailability in the cytosol and the nucleus, whereas linear CPP analogues do not confer GFP transduction. This technology expands the application of cyclic CPPs to the efficient transport of functional full‐length proteins into live cells.     

Confinement Effect of Organic Nanotubes Toward Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Depending on the Inner Diameter Size

Transportation, release behavior, and stability of a green fluorescent protein (GFP, 3×4 nm) in self‐assembled organic nanotubes with three different inner diameters (10, 20, and 80 nm) have been studied in terms of novel nanocontainers. Selective immobilization of a fluorescent acceptor dye on the inner surface enabled us to not only visualize the transportation of GFP in the nanochannels but to also detect release of the encapsulated GFP to the bulk solution in real time, based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Obtained diffusion constants and release rates of GFP markedly decreased as the inner diameter of the nanotubes was decreased. An endo‐sensing procedure also clarified the dependence of the thermal and chemical stabilities of the GFP on the inner diameters. The GFP encapsulated in the 10 nm nanochannel showed strong resistance to heat and to a denaturant. On the other hand, the 20 nm nanochannel accelerated the denaturation of the encapsulated GFP compared with the rate of denaturation of the free GFP in bulk and the encapsulated GFP in the 80 nm nanochannels. The confinement effect based on rational fitting of the inner diameter to the size of GFP allowed us to store it stably and without denaturation under high temperatures and high denaturant concentrations.     

Selective fluorescence recovery after bleaching of single E2GFP proteins induced by two-photon excitation.

We report the two-photon excitation and emission or a recently developed green fluorescent protein (GFP) mutant, E(2)GFP. Two main excitation bands are found at 780 and 870 nm. Blinking and irreversible and reversible bleaching were observed. Fluorescence blinking occurs in the millisecond range and has been ascribed to conversions between the neutral, anionic and dark zwitterionic states. Bleaching is observed after approximately 10 to 400 ms depending on the excitation power, and it is probably due to a conversion to a dark state. The striking feature of this GFP mutant is that the fluorescence can be recovered with very high efficiency only upon irradiation at 720 +/- 10 nm. This GFP mutant therefore seems promising as an almost permanent chromophore for two-photon excitation (TPE) microscopy or for applications in single-molecule memory arrays.     

Conformationally locked chromophores as models of excited-state proton transfer in fluorescent proteins

Members of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) family form chromophores by modifications of three internal amino acid residues. Previously, many key characteristics of chromophores were studied using model compounds. However, no studies of intermolecular excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) with GFP-like synthetic chromophores have been performed because they either are nonfluorescent or lack an ionizable OH group. In this paper we report the synthesis and photochemical study of two highly fluorescent GFP chromophore analogues: p-HOBDI-BF2 and p-HOPyDI:Zn. Among known fluorescent compounds, p-HOBDI-BF(2) is the closest analogue of the native GFP chromophore. These irrreversibly (p-HOBDI-BF(2)) and reversibly (p-HOPyDI:Zn) locked compounds are the first examples of fully planar GFP chromophores, in which photoisomerization-induced deactivation is suppressed and protolytic photodissociation is observed. The photophysical behavior of p-HOBDI-BF2 and p-HOPyDI:Zn (excited state pK(a)'s, solvatochromism, kinetics, and thermodynamics of proton transfer) reveals their high photoacidity, which makes them good models of intermolecular ESPT in fluorescent proteins. Moreover, p-HOPyDI:Zn is a first example of "super" photoacidity in metal-organic complexes.     

Synthesis and spectroscopic studies of model red fluorescent protein chromophores

[reaction: see text]. Here we describe the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of two compounds designed to model the chromophore in DsRed, a red fluorescent protein. Comparison with model green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophores indicates that the additional conjugation in the DsRed models can account, in part, for the red-shifted absorption and emission properties of DsRed compared to those of GFP. In contrast to the GFP models, the DsRed models are fluorescent with quantum yields of 0.002-0.01 in CHCl3.     

Structural features responsible for GFPuv and S147P-GFP’s improved fluorescence

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is used as a biological marker. It is a protein in the jellyfish, Aequorea victorea, which is found in the cold Pacific Northwest. Mature GFP, i.e. fully fluorescent GFP, is most efficiently formed at temperatures well below 37 °C. The GFPuv (F99S/M153T/V163A) and S147P-GFP mutants mature more efficiently at room temperature than wild-type GFP, and therefore result in increased fluorescence at room temperature. Computational methods have been used to examine whether the low-energy precyclized forms of these improved GFP-mutants are preorganized so that they can more efficiently form the chromophore than the wild-type and S65T-GFP. All mutations examined (S147P, F99S, M153T, V163A and F99S/M153T/V163A) more efficiently preorganize the immature precyclized forms of GFP for chromophore formation than immature wild-type GFP. It has been proposed that Arg96 is involved in chromophore formation. Our calculations suggest that the M153T and V163A mutations in GFPuv maybe partially responsible for the increased maturation efficiency observed in GFPuv because they improve the Arg96–Tyr66 interaction. The same is true for the S147P mutation in S147P-GFP.     

Role of Ser65, His148 and Thr203 in the Organic Solvent‐dependent Spectral Shift in Green Fluorescent Protein

The photophysics of green fluorescent protein (GFP) is remarkable because of its exceptional property of excited state proton transfer (ESPT) and the presence of a functional proton wire. Another interesting property of wild‐type GFP is that its absorption and fluorescence excitation spectra are sensitive to the presence of polar organic solvents even at very low concentrations. Here, we use a combination of methodologies including site‐specific mutagenesis, absorption spectroscopy, steady‐state and time‐resolved fluorescence measurements and all‐atom molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent, to uncover the mechanism behind the unique spectral sensitivity of GFP toward organic solvents. Based on the evidences provided herein, we suggest that organic solvent‐induced changes in the proton wire prevent ground state movement of a proton through the wire and thus bring about the spectral changes observed. The present study can not only help to understand the mechanism of proton transfer by further dissecting the intricate steps in GFP photophysics but also encourages to develop GFP‐based organic solvent biosensors.     

Effect of pH on thermal- and chemical-induced denaturation of GFP

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is an unusually stable autofluorescent protein that is increasingly being exploited for many applications. In this report, we have used fluorescence spectroscopy to study the effect of pH on the denaturation of GFP with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), urea, and heat. Surprisingly, SDS (up to 0.5%) did not have any significant effect on the fluorescence of GFP at pH 7.5 or 8.5 buffers; however, at pH 6.5, the protein lost all fluorescence within 1 min of incubation. Similarly, incubation of GFP with 8 M urea at 50°C resulted in time dependent denaturation of GFP, but only in pH 6.5 buffer. At higher pH values (pH 7.5 and pH 8.5), the GFP was quite stable in 8 M urea at 50°C, showing only a slight decrease in fluorescence. Heat denaturation of GFP was found to be pH dependent as well, with the denaturation being fastest at pH 6.5 as compared to pH 7.5 or pH 8.5. Like the denaturation studies, renaturation of heat-denatured GFP was most efficient at pH 8.5, followed by pH 7.5, and then pH 6.5. These results suggests that GFP undergoes a structural/stability shift between pH 6.5 and pH 7.5, with the GFP structure at pH 6.5 being very sensitive to denaturation by SDS, urea, and heat.