Mechanosensitive Channel-Based Optical Membrane Tension Reporter
Yen-Yu Hsu, Agnes M. Resto Irizarry, Jianping Fu, Allen P. Liu
Abstract
Plasma membrane tension functions as a global physical organizer of cellular activities. Technical limitations of current membrane tension measurement techniques have hampered in-depth investigation of cellular membrane biophysics and the role of plasma membrane tension in regulating cellular processes. Here, we develop an optical membrane tension reporter by repurposing an E. coli mechanosensitive channel via insertion of circularly permuted GFP (cpGFP), which undergoes a large conformational rearrangement associated with channel activation and thus fluorescence intensity changes under increased membrane tension.
Topics & Concepts
Mechanosensitive channelsMembraneBiophysicsTension (geology)ChemistryIon channelCell biologyMaterials scienceBiologyBiochemistryMetallurgyReceptorUltimate tensile strengthErythrocyte Function and PathophysiologyLipid Membrane Structure and BehaviorCellular Mechanics and Interactions