Yoshimura H, Ozawa T
School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Methods Enzymol. 2016;572:65-85. doi: 10.1016/bs.mie.2016.03.018. Epub 2016 Apr 12.
Fluorescence live-cell RNA imaging to monitor the intracellular localization and dynamics of the target RNA is a challenging subject. One of the difficulties to achieve this is to establish a precise method to enable a fluorescent labeling to the target RNA in living cells. Technologies to reduce the background fluorescence and to detect the RNA with high sensitivity are also necessary to visualize and analyze the intracellular localization and dynamic of the target RNA precisely. Especially in monitoring single-molecule motion, a special setup of a microscope system is required. Such technical problems make the live-cell RNA imaging to be a difficult subject. We recently developed a methodology to label and to visualize a target RNA in living cells with low background fluorescence by using a probe that is based on an RNA-binding protein domain PUM-HD (pumilio homology domain) and a fluorescent protein reconstitution method. A noteworthy property of PUM-HD to apply RNA probes is that this protein domain can be modified to recognize a particular 8-base RNA sequence by inducing tailor-made designed mutagenesis. The fluorescent protein reconstitution method allows us to detect the target RNA with high signal-to-noise ratio. Using the probe based on PUM-HD, a fluorescent protein reconstitution method, and a homebuilt fluorescent microscope system, we succeeded in single-molecule observation of a target RNA in living cells. In this chapter, the techniques to establish the probe and to observe the motion of single-molecule RNA are described.
利用荧光活细胞RNA成像技术监测目标RNA的细胞内定位和动态是一个具有挑战性的课题。实现这一目标的困难之一在于建立一种精确的方法,以便在活细胞中对目标RNA进行荧光标记。为了精确地可视化和分析目标RNA的细胞内定位和动态,还需要降低背景荧光并高灵敏度检测RNA的技术。特别是在监测单分子运动时,需要特殊设置显微镜系统。这些技术问题使得活细胞RNA成像成为一个难题。我们最近开发了一种方法,通过使用基于RNA结合蛋白结构域PUM-HD(pumilio同源结构域)的探针和荧光蛋白重组方法,在低背景荧光下对活细胞中的目标RNA进行标记和可视化。PUM-HD应用于RNA探针的一个值得注意的特性是,通过诱导定制设计的诱变,可以对该蛋白结构域进行修饰,以识别特定的8碱基RNA序列。荧光蛋白重组方法使我们能够以高信噪比检测目标RNA。利用基于PUM-HD的探针、荧光蛋白重组方法和自制的荧光显微镜系统,我们成功地在活细胞中对目标RNA进行了单分子观察。在本章中,将描述建立探针和观察单分子RNA运动的技术。