Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2010 Apr;14(2):231-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2009.11.022. Epub 2009 Dec 28.
The ability to image the concentration of transition metals in living cells in real time is important for understanding transition metal (TM) homeostasis and its involvement in diseases. Genetically encoded fluorescent sensor proteins are attractive because they do not require cell-invasive procedures, can be targeted to different locations in the cell, and allow ratiometric detection. Important progress in the development of Zn(2+) sensors has allowed sensitive detection of the very low free concentrations of Zn(2+) in single cells, both in the cytosol and various organelles. Together with other recent advances in chemical biology, these tools seem particularly useful to interrogate the dynamics and compartmentation of TM homeostasis.
实时成像活细胞中过渡金属浓度的能力对于理解过渡金属（TM）的动态平衡及其在疾病中的作用非常重要。遗传编码的荧光传感器蛋白很有吸引力，因为它们不需要细胞侵入性程序，可以靶向细胞内的不同位置，并允许进行比率检测。Zn(2+)传感器的重要进展使得能够在细胞质和各种细胞器中，对单个细胞中非常低的游离 Zn(2+)浓度进行敏感检测。结合化学生物学的其他最新进展，这些工具似乎特别有助于探究 TM 动态平衡的动力学和区室化。
