Localized light-induced protein dimerization in living cells using a photocaged dimerizer

Edward R. Ballister, Chanat Aonbangkhen, Alyssa M. Mayo, Michael A. Lampson () and David M. Chenoweth ()
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Edward R. Ballister: School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
Chanat Aonbangkhen: School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
Alyssa M. Mayo: School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
Michael A. Lampson: School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
David M. Chenoweth: School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Regulated protein localization is critical for many cellular processes. Several techniques have been developed for experimental control over protein localization, including chemically induced and light-induced dimerization, which both provide temporal control. Light-induced dimerization offers the distinct advantage of spatial precision within subcellular length scales. A number of elegant systems have been reported that utilize natural light-sensitive proteins to induce dimerization via direct protein–protein binding interactions, but the application of these systems at cellular locations beyond the plasma membrane has been limited. Here we present a new technique to rapidly and reversibly control protein localization in living cells with subcellular spatial resolution using a cell-permeable, photoactivatable chemical inducer of dimerization. We demonstrate light-induced recruitment of a cytosolic protein to individual centromeres, kinetochores, mitochondria and centrosomes in human cells, indicating that our system is widely applicable to many cellular locations.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6475

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