Fluorescent protein-based biosensors: resolving spatiotemporal dynamics of signaling

Cellular processes are orchestrated by the precise coordination and regulation of molecular events in the cell. Fluorescent protein-based biosensors coupled with live-cell imaging have enabled the visualization of these events in real time and helped shape some of the current concepts of signal transduction, such as spatial compartmentation. The quantitative information produced by these tools has been incorporated into mathematical models that are capable of predicting highly complex and dynamic behaviors of cellular signaling networks, thus providing a systems level understanding of how pathways interact to produce a functional response. Finally, with technological advances in high-throughput and in vivo imaging, these molecular tools promise to continually engender significant contributions to our understanding of cellular processes under normal and diseased conditions.