Subunit counting in membrane-bound proteins
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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Proteome-wide Quantification of Labeling Homogeneity at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: April 19, 2019
Maximilian H Ulbrich1, Ehud Y Isacoff
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley Material Science & Physical Bioscience Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Abstract:
The subunit number and stoichiometry of membrane-bound proteins are difficult to determine without disrupting their membrane environment. Here we describe a single-molecule technique for counting subunits of proteins in live cell membranes by observing bleaching steps of GFP fused to a protein of interest. After testing the method with proteins of known stoichiometry expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, we resolved the composition of NMDA receptors composed of NR1 and NR3 subunits.
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