Developmental Biology Program; Sloan-Kettering Institute; New York, NY USA.
Organogenesis. 2009 Oct;5(4):217-26. doi: 10.4161/org.5.4.10939.
An organism arises from the coordinate generation of different cell types and the stereotypical organization of these cells into tissues and organs. Even so, the dynamic behaviors, as well as the ultimate fates, of cells driving the morphogenesis of an organism, or even an individual organ, remain largely unknown. Continued innovations in optical imaging modalities, along with the discovery and evolution of improved genetically-encoded fluorescent protein reporters in combination with model organism, stem cell and tissue engineering paradigms are providing the means to investigate these unresolved questions. The emergence of fluorescent proteins whose spectral properties can be photomodulated is one of the most significant new developments in the field of cell biology where they are primarily used for studying protein dynamics in cells. Likewise, the use of photomodulatable fluorescent proteins holds great promise for use in developmental biology. Photomodulatable fluorescent proteins also represent attractive and emergent tools for studying cell dynamics in complex populations by facilitating the labeling and tracking of individual or defined groups of cells. Here, we review the currently available photomodulatable fluorescent proteins and their application in model organisms. We also discuss prospects for their use in mice, and by extension in embryonic stem cell and tissue engineering paradigms.
生物体是由不同细胞类型的协调产生以及这些细胞组织和器官的典型排列形成的。即便如此，驱动生物体甚至单个器官形态发生的细胞的动态行为及其最终命运在很大程度上仍是未知的。光学成像方式的持续创新，以及结合模式生物、干细胞和组织工程范例发现和进化的改良遗传编码荧光蛋白报告基因，为研究这些未解决的问题提供了手段。荧光蛋白的出现，其光谱特性可以光调控，这是细胞生物学领域最重大的新进展之一，主要用于研究细胞内蛋白质的动态。同样，光调控荧光蛋白的使用在发育生物学中也具有很大的应用前景。光调控荧光蛋白也是通过标记和跟踪单个或特定细胞群来研究复杂群体中细胞动态的有吸引力的新兴工具。在这里，我们回顾了目前可用的光调控荧光蛋白及其在模式生物中的应用。我们还讨论了它们在小鼠中的应用前景，以及在胚胎干细胞和组织工程范例中的应用前景。
