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Li N, Zhao R, Sun Y, Ye Z, He K, Fang X. Single-molecule imaging and tracking of molecular dynamics in living cells. Natl Sci Rev 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nww055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Unlike the ensemble-averaging measurements, the single-molecule imaging and tracking (SMIT) in living cells provides the real-time quantitative information about the locations, kinetics, dynamics and interactions of individual molecules in their native environments with high spatiotemporal resolution and minimal perturbation. The past decade has witnessed a transforming development in the methods of SMIT with living cells, including fluorescent probes, labeling strategies, fluorescence microscopy, and detection and tracking algorithms. In this review, we will discuss these aspects with a particular focus on their recent advancements. We will then describe representative single-molecule studies to illustrate how the single-molecule approaches can be applied to monitor biomolecular interaction/reaction dynamics, and extract the molecular mechanistic information for different cellular systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Rong Zhao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yahong Sun
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zi Ye
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Kangmin He
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, and Cellular and Molecular Medicine Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Xiaohong Fang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Vorontsova MA, Vekilov PG, Maes D. Characterization of the diffusive dynamics of particles with time-dependent asymmetric microscopy intensity profiles. SOFT MATTER 2016; 12:6926-6936. [PMID: 27489111 DOI: 10.1039/c6sm00946h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
We put forth an algorithm to track isolated micron-size solid and liquid particles that produce time-dependent asymmetric intensity patterns. This method quantifies the displacement of a particle in the image plane from the peak of a spatial cross-correlation function with a reference image. The peak sharpness results in subpixel resolution. We demonstrate the utility of the method for tracking liquid droplets with changing shapes and micron-size particles producing images with exaggerated asymmetry. We compare the accuracy of diffusivity determination with particles of known size by this method to that by common tracking techniques and demonstrate that our algorithm is superior. We address several open questions on the characterization of diffusive behaviors. We show that for particles, diffusing with a root-mean-square displacement of 0.6 pixel widths in the time between two successive recorded frames, more accurate diffusivity determinations result from mean squared displacement (MSD) for lag times up to 5 time intervals and that MSDs determined from non-overlapping displacements do not yield more accurate diffusivities. We discuss the optimal length of image sequences and demonstrate that lower frame rates do not affect the accuracy of the estimated diffusivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A Vorontsova
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA.
| | - Peter G Vekilov
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA. and Department of Chemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA
| | - Dominique Maes
- Structural Biology Brussels, SBB, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
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Ionic imbalance, in addition to molecular crowding, abates cytoskeletal dynamics and vesicle motility during hypertonic stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:E3104-13. [PMID: 26045497 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1421290112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell volume homeostasis is vital for the maintenance of optimal protein density and cellular function. Numerous mammalian cell types are routinely exposed to acute hypertonic challenge and shrink. Molecular crowding modifies biochemical reaction rates and decreases macromolecule diffusion. Cell volume is restored rapidly by ion influx but at the expense of elevated intracellular sodium and chloride levels that persist long after challenge. Although recent studies have highlighted the role of molecular crowding on the effects of hypertonicity, the effects of ionic imbalance on cellular trafficking dynamics in living cells are largely unexplored. By tracking distinct fluorescently labeled endosome/vesicle populations by live-cell imaging, we show that vesicle motility is reduced dramatically in a variety of cell types at the onset of hypertonic challenge. Live-cell imaging of actin and tubulin revealed similar arrested microfilament motility upon challenge. Vesicle motility recovered long after cell volume, a process that required functional regulatory volume increase and was accelerated by a return of extracellular osmolality to isosmotic levels. This delay suggests that, although volume-induced molecular crowding contributes to trafficking defects, it alone cannot explain the observed effects. Using fluorescent indicators and FRET-based probes, we found that intracellular ATP abundance and mitochondrial potential were reduced by hypertonicity and recovered after longer periods of time. Similar to the effects of osmotic challenge, isovolumetric elevation of intracellular chloride concentration by ionophores transiently decreased ATP production by mitochondria and abated microfilament and vesicle motility. These data illustrate how perturbed ionic balance, in addition to molecular crowding, affects membrane trafficking.
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Luo W, Xia T, Xu L, Chen YG, Fang X. Visualization of the post-Golgi vesicle-mediated transportation of TGF-β receptor II by quasi-TIRFM. JOURNAL OF BIOPHOTONICS 2014; 7:788-798. [PMID: 23606367 DOI: 10.1002/jbio.201300020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2013] [Revised: 03/25/2013] [Accepted: 03/25/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Transforming growth factor β receptor II (Tβ RII) is synthesized in the cytoplasm and then transported to the plasma membrane of cells to fulfil its signalling duty. Here, we applied live-cell fluorescence imaging techniques, in particular quasi-total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, to imaging fluorescent protein-tagged Tβ RII and monitoring its secretion process. We observed punctuate-like Tβ RII-containing post-Golgi vesicles formed in MCF7 cells. Single-particle tracking showed that these vesicles travelled along the microtubules at an average speed of 0.51 μm/s. When stimulated by TGF-β ligand, these receptor-containing vesicles intended to move towards the plasma membrane. We also identified several factors that could inhibit the formation of such post-Golgi vesicles. Although the inhibitory mechanisms still remain unknown, the observed characteristics of Tβ RII-containing vesicles provide new information on intracellular Tβ RII transportation. It also renders Tβ RII a good model system for studying post-Golgi vesicle-trafficking and protein transportation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wangxi Luo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructures and Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P.R. China
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Liu SL, Li J, Zhang ZL, Wang ZG, Tian ZQ, Wang GP, Pang DW. Fast and high-accuracy localization for three-dimensional single-particle tracking. Sci Rep 2014; 3:2462. [PMID: 23955270 PMCID: PMC3746204 DOI: 10.1038/srep02462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2013] [Accepted: 07/29/2013] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
We report a non-iterative localization algorithm that utilizes the scaling of a three-dimensional (3D) image in the axial direction and focuses on evaluating the radial symmetry center of the scaled image to achieve the desired single-particle localization. Using this approach, we analyzed simulated 3D particle images by wide-field microscopy and confocal microscopy respectively, and the 3D trajectory of quantum dots (QDs)-labeled influenza virus in live cells. Both applications indicate that the method can achieve 3D single-particle localization with a sub-pixel precision and sub-millisecond computation time. The precision is almost the same as that of the iterative nonlinear least-squares 3D Gaussian fitting method, but with two orders of magnitude higher computation speed. This approach can reduce considerably the time and costs for processing the large volume data of 3D images for 3D single-particle tracking, which is especially suited for 3D high-precision single-particle tracking, 3D single-molecule imaging and even new microscopy techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Lin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Biology and Medicine, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Virology, and Wuhan Institute of Biotechnology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, PR China
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Liu F, He K, Yang X, Xu N, Liang Z, Xu M, Zhao X, Han Q, Zhang Y. α1A-adrenergic receptor induces activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 through endocytic pathway. PLoS One 2011; 6:e21520. [PMID: 21738688 PMCID: PMC3125289 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2011] [Accepted: 05/30/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) activate mitogen-activated protein kinases through a number of distinct pathways in cells. Increasing evidence has suggested that endosomal signaling has an important role in receptor signal transduction. Here we investigated the involvement of endocytosis in α1A-adrenergic receptor (α1A-AR)-induced activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). Agonist-mediated endocytic traffic of α1A-AR was assessed by real-time imaging of living, stably transfected human embryonic kidney 293A cells (HEK-293A). α1A-AR was internalized dynamically in cells with agonist stimulation, and actin filaments regulated the initial trafficking of α1A-AR. α1A-AR-induced activation of ERK1/2 but not p38 MAPK was sensitive to disruption of endocytosis, as demonstrated by 4°C chilling, dynamin mutation and treatment with cytochalasin D (actin depolymerizing agent). Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and C-Raf by α1A-AR was not affected by 4°C chilling or cytochalasin D treatment. U73122 (a phospholipase C [PLC] inhibitor) and Ro 31–8220 (a PKC inhibitor) inhibited α1B-AR- but not α1A-AR-induced ERK1/2 activation. These data suggest that the endocytic pathway is involved in α1A-AR-induced ERK1/2 activation, which is independent of Gq/PLC/PKC signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Liu
- Institute of Vascular Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, and Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Kangmin He
- Institute of Vascular Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, and Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Xinxing Yang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Biodynamic Optical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ning Xu
- Institute of Vascular Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, and Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Zhangyi Liang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Biodynamic Optical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ming Xu
- Institute of Vascular Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, and Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Xinsheng Zhao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Biodynamic Optical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Qide Han
- Institute of Vascular Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, and Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Youyi Zhang
- Institute of Vascular Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, and Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
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Liang ZY, Xu N, Guan YH, Zhang YY, Zhao XS. Mode of Myosin Transportation in Living Cells Studied by Single Particle Tracking. CHINESE J CHEM PHYS 2007. [DOI: 10.1088/1674-0068/20/04/445-448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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