Levine Michael N, Hoang Trish T, Raines Ronald T
Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Chem Biol. 2013 Apr 18;20(4):614-8. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2013.03.016.
Endocytosis is a fundamental process of eukaryotic cells that is critical for nutrient uptake, signal transduction, and growth. We have developed a molecular probe to quantify endocytosis. The probe is a lipid conjugated to a fluorophore that is masked with an enzyme-activatable moiety known as the trimethyl lock. The probe is not fluorescent when incorporated into the plasma membrane of human cells but becomes fluorescent upon internalization into endosomes, where cellular esterases activate the trimethyl lock. Using this probe, we found that human breast cancer cells undergo constitutive endocytosis more rapidly than do matched noncancerous cells. These data reveal a possible phenotypic distinction of cancer cells that could be the basis for chemotherapeutic intervention.
内吞作用是真核细胞的一个基本过程，对营养物质摄取、信号转导和生长至关重要。我们开发了一种用于量化内吞作用的分子探针。该探针是一种与荧光团偶联的脂质，其被一种称为三甲基锁的酶可激活部分所掩盖。当该探针掺入人类细胞的质膜时不发荧光，但在内化进入内体后会发荧光，在内体中细胞酯酶会激活三甲基锁。使用该探针，我们发现人类乳腺癌细胞比匹配的非癌细胞经历组成型内吞作用的速度更快。这些数据揭示了癌细胞可能的表型差异，这可能是化疗干预的基础。
