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filaments (red), microtubules
(green), and nuclei (blue)
National Institutes of Health
A new technique allows scientists to view the cell cytoskeleton with “unprecedented resolution,” according to a paper published in Nature Methods.
A group of researchers exploited the properties of a fluorescent molecule they developed to generate 2 probes for imaging the cytoskeleton.
The team said these probes can easily enter live cells, are non-toxic, have long-lasting signals, and offer better image resolution than current imaging techniques.
This research began when Kai Johnsson, PhD, of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, and his colleagues developed a fluorescent molecule called silicon-rhodamine (SiR).
The molecule switches “on” only when it binds to the charged surface of a protein like those found on the cytoskeleton. When SiR switches on, it emits light at far-red wavelengths.
The challenge was getting SiR to bind specifically to the cytoskeleton’s proteins, actin and tubulin. To achieve this, the researchers fused SiR molecules with compounds that bind tubulin or actin.
The resulting hybrid molecules consist of a SiR molecule, which provides the fluorescent signal, and a molecule of a natural compound that can bind the target protein.
One such compound was docetaxel, an anticancer drug that binds tubulin, and the other was jasplakinolide, which specifically binds the cytoskeletal form of actin. Both compounds, which are used here in very low, non-toxic concentrations, can easily pass through the cell’s membrane and into the cell itself.
The probes, called SiR-tubulin and SiR-actin, were used to visualize the dynamics of the cytoskeleton in human skin cells. Because the light signal of the probes is emitted in the far-red spectrum, it is easy to isolate from background noise, which generates images of unprecedented resolution when used with super-resolution microscopy.
An additional advantage of the probes, according to the researchers, is their practicality.
“You just add them directly into your cell culture, and they are taken up by the cells,” Dr Johnsson said.
The probes don’t require any washing or preparation of the cells before administration or any subsequent washing steps, which helps in maintaining the stability of their environment and their natural biological functions.
“Up to now, no probes were available that would allow you to get high-quality images of microtubules and microfilaments in living cells without some kind of genetic modification,” Dr Johnsson said.
“With this work, we provide the biological community with 2 high-performing, high-contrast fluorogenic probes that emit in the non-phototoxic part of the light spectrum, and can be even used in tissues like whole-blood samples.” 
filaments (red), microtubules
(green), and nuclei (blue)
National Institutes of Health
A new technique allows scientists to view the cell cytoskeleton with “unprecedented resolution,” according to a paper published in Nature Methods.
A group of researchers exploited the properties of a fluorescent molecule they developed to generate 2 probes for imaging the cytoskeleton.
The team said these probes can easily enter live cells, are non-toxic, have long-lasting signals, and offer better image resolution than current imaging techniques.
This research began when Kai Johnsson, PhD, of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, and his colleagues developed a fluorescent molecule called silicon-rhodamine (SiR).
The molecule switches “on” only when it binds to the charged surface of a protein like those found on the cytoskeleton. When SiR switches on, it emits light at far-red wavelengths.
The challenge was getting SiR to bind specifically to the cytoskeleton’s proteins, actin and tubulin. To achieve this, the researchers fused SiR molecules with compounds that bind tubulin or actin.
The resulting hybrid molecules consist of a SiR molecule, which provides the fluorescent signal, and a molecule of a natural compound that can bind the target protein.
One such compound was docetaxel, an anticancer drug that binds tubulin, and the other was jasplakinolide, which specifically binds the cytoskeletal form of actin. Both compounds, which are used here in very low, non-toxic concentrations, can easily pass through the cell’s membrane and into the cell itself.
The probes, called SiR-tubulin and SiR-actin, were used to visualize the dynamics of the cytoskeleton in human skin cells. Because the light signal of the probes is emitted in the far-red spectrum, it is easy to isolate from background noise, which generates images of unprecedented resolution when used with super-resolution microscopy.
An additional advantage of the probes, according to the researchers, is their practicality.
“You just add them directly into your cell culture, and they are taken up by the cells,” Dr Johnsson said.
The probes don’t require any washing or preparation of the cells before administration or any subsequent washing steps, which helps in maintaining the stability of their environment and their natural biological functions.
“Up to now, no probes were available that would allow you to get high-quality images of microtubules and microfilaments in living cells without some kind of genetic modification,” Dr Johnsson said.
“With this work, we provide the biological community with 2 high-performing, high-contrast fluorogenic probes that emit in the non-phototoxic part of the light spectrum, and can be even used in tissues like whole-blood samples.”
filaments (red), microtubules
(green), and nuclei (blue)
National Institutes of Health
A new technique allows scientists to view the cell cytoskeleton with “unprecedented resolution,” according to a paper published in Nature Methods.
A group of researchers exploited the properties of a fluorescent molecule they developed to generate 2 probes for imaging the cytoskeleton.
The team said these probes can easily enter live cells, are non-toxic, have long-lasting signals, and offer better image resolution than current imaging techniques.
This research began when Kai Johnsson, PhD, of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, and his colleagues developed a fluorescent molecule called silicon-rhodamine (SiR).
The molecule switches “on” only when it binds to the charged surface of a protein like those found on the cytoskeleton. When SiR switches on, it emits light at far-red wavelengths.
The challenge was getting SiR to bind specifically to the cytoskeleton’s proteins, actin and tubulin. To achieve this, the researchers fused SiR molecules with compounds that bind tubulin or actin.
The resulting hybrid molecules consist of a SiR molecule, which provides the fluorescent signal, and a molecule of a natural compound that can bind the target protein.
One such compound was docetaxel, an anticancer drug that binds tubulin, and the other was jasplakinolide, which specifically binds the cytoskeletal form of actin. Both compounds, which are used here in very low, non-toxic concentrations, can easily pass through the cell’s membrane and into the cell itself.
The probes, called SiR-tubulin and SiR-actin, were used to visualize the dynamics of the cytoskeleton in human skin cells. Because the light signal of the probes is emitted in the far-red spectrum, it is easy to isolate from background noise, which generates images of unprecedented resolution when used with super-resolution microscopy.
An additional advantage of the probes, according to the researchers, is their practicality.
“You just add them directly into your cell culture, and they are taken up by the cells,” Dr Johnsson said.
The probes don’t require any washing or preparation of the cells before administration or any subsequent washing steps, which helps in maintaining the stability of their environment and their natural biological functions.
“Up to now, no probes were available that would allow you to get high-quality images of microtubules and microfilaments in living cells without some kind of genetic modification,” Dr Johnsson said.
“With this work, we provide the biological community with 2 high-performing, high-contrast fluorogenic probes that emit in the non-phototoxic part of the light spectrum, and can be even used in tissues like whole-blood samples.”