Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins

Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins

Cell polarity is the asymmetric distribution of cellular and membrane components, making one side of the cell different from the other. This polarity is essential to many processes such as embryogenesis, axon migration, glucose transport across epithelial cells, and directional cell migration. A migrating cell responds to intracellular or extracellular signals via molecular cascades that reorganize the actin cytoskeleton to establish this polarity. In these cells, the Rho family proteins Cdc42,...

Protein Dynamics in Living Cells

Protein Dynamics in Living Cells

Different fluorescence-based techniques are used to study the protein dynamics in living cells. These techniques include FRAP, FRET, and PET.
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

A unified call to action from Australian nursing and midwifery leaders: ensuring that Black lives matter.

Contemporary nurse·2020

Same author

Combined Atomic Force Microscope and Volumetric Light Sheet System for Correlative Force and Fluorescence Mechanobiology Studies.

Scientific reports·2020

Same author

A good surgical death.

The British journal of surgery·2019

Same author

Change is in the air: Reclaiming ancestral wisdom through Birthing on Country in Australia.

Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives·2019

Same author

Weighing false hope in population anticancer drug decision making.

Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology·2018

Same author

Do patient access schemes for high-cost cancer drugs deliver value to society?-lessons from the NHS Cancer Drugs Fund.

Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology·2017

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Spatio-Temporal Manipulation of Small GTPase Activity at Subcellular Level and on Timescale of Seconds in Living Cells

Spatio-Temporal Manipulation of Small GTPase Activity at Subcellular Level and on Timescale of Seconds in Living Cells

Published on: March 9, 2012

Localized Rac activation dynamics visualized in living cells.

V S Kraynov¹, C Chamberlain, G M Bokoch

¹Department of Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|October 13, 2000

Summary

Researchers developed FLAIR to visualize Rac1 protein activity in real-time within cells. This method precisely mapped Rac1 activation at the cell membrane, offering new insights into cellular signaling and spatial control.

More Related Videos

Micromanipulation Techniques Allowing Analysis of Morphogenetic Dynamics and Turnover of Cytoskeletal Regulators

Micromanipulation Techniques Allowing Analysis of Morphogenetic Dynamics and Turnover of Cytoskeletal Regulators

Published on: May 12, 2018

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Published on: October 4, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Spatio-Temporal Manipulation of Small GTPase Activity at Subcellular Level and on Timescale of Seconds in Living Cells

Spatio-Temporal Manipulation of Small GTPase Activity at Subcellular Level and on Timescale of Seconds in Living Cells

Published on: March 9, 2012

Micromanipulation Techniques Allowing Analysis of Morphogenetic Dynamics and Turnover of Cytoskeletal Regulators

Micromanipulation Techniques Allowing Analysis of Morphogenetic Dynamics and Turnover of Cytoskeletal Regulators

Published on: May 12, 2018

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Published on: October 4, 2024

Area of Science:

Cell biology
Molecular signaling
Biophysics

Background:

Signaling proteins require precise spatial and temporal regulation for localized cellular effects.
Small guanosine triphosphatases (GTPSases), like Rac, interact with downstream targets and regulate subcellular localization upon GTP binding.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel method for quantifying the spatio-temporal dynamics of Rac1 nucleotide states in living cells.
To investigate the spatial control of growth factor-induced Rac activation.

Main Methods:

Development of Fluorescence Activation Indicator for Rho proteins (FLAIR) for real-time monitoring.
Utilizing FLAIR to visualize Rac1 nucleotide state dynamics in living cells.

Main Results:

FLAIR enabled precise quantification of Rac1 spatio-temporal dynamics.
Demonstrated spatial control of growth factor-induced Rac activation, specifically in membrane ruffles.
Revealed a gradient of Rac activation at the leading edge of motile cells.

Conclusions:

FLAIR is a powerful tool for examining spatio-temporal protein activity.
Provides insights into the precise spatial regulation of Rac1 signaling in cellular processes.
Highlights the importance of localized protein activation for specific cellular functions.