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Live Cell Imaging of Src/FAK Signaling by FRET

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Abstract

The Src/FAK complex is involved in many signaling pathways and plays crucial roles in cell adhesion/migration. It becomes clear that the subcellular localization of Src and FAK is crucial for their activities and functions. In this article, we first overview the molecular mechanisms and functions of Src and FAK involved in cell adhesion/migration. We then introduce the development of genetically encoded biosensors based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to visualize the activities of Src and FAK in live cells with high spatiotemporal resolutions. Different kinds of signal peptides targeting subcellular compartments are also discussed. FRET-based biosensors fused with these targeting signals peptides are further introduced to provide an overview on how these targeting signals can facilitate the localization of biosensors to continuously monitor the local activity of Src and FAK at subcellular compartments. In summary, genetically-encoded FRET biosensors integrated with subcellular compartment-targeting signals can provide powerful tools for the visualization of subcellular Src and FAK activities in live cells and advance our in-depth understanding of Src/FAK functions at different subcellular compartments.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by grants from NIH HL098472, CA139272, NS063405, NSF CBET0846429, CMMI0800870 (Y.W.), and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation and Beckman Laser Institute, Inc. (Y.W.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Jihye Seong & Yingxiao Wang

  2. Department of Bioengineering and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Shaoying Lu & Yingxiao Wang

  3. Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, Department of Integrative and Molecular Physiology, Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Yingxiao Wang

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  1. Jihye Seong
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Correspondence to Yingxiao Wang.

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Associate Editor Edward Guo oversaw the review of this article.

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Seong, J., Lu, S. & Wang, Y. Live Cell Imaging of Src/FAK Signaling by FRET. Cel. Mol. Bioeng. 4, 138–147 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-011-0161-3

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