Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026
09:45
Live Imaging of Dense-core Vesicles in Primary Cultured Hippocampal Neurons
Published on: May 29, 2009
Subcellular imaging in vivo: the next GFP revolution
1AntiCancer, Inc., Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA. all@anticancer.com
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|June 16, 2012
Summary
New fluorescent protein technology allows real-time visualization of cancer cell dynamics in vivo. This breakthrough aids in understanding cancer cell spread at the subcellular level, opening new avenues in cell biology research.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Cancer Research
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Visualizing cancer cell behavior in vivo is crucial for understanding metastasis.
- Previous methods lacked the resolution to observe subcellular dynamics during cancer cell trafficking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To visualize nuclear-cytoplasmic dynamics of cancer cells in vivo.
- To track cancer cell behavior during metastasis and cell cycle progression.
Main Methods:
- Utilized fluorescent proteins for differential labeling of cancer cell compartments (nucleus and cytoplasm).
- Employed high-powered imaging technology for in vivo observation.
- Applied fluorescent proteins to track cell cycle phases in real-time.
Main Results:
- Successfully visualized nuclear-cytoplasmic dynamics of cancer cells in blood and lymphatic vessels.
- Observed cancer cell seeding on organs and interactions with stroma in live animals.
- Enabled in vivo tracking of cell cycle phases within cancer cells.
Conclusions:
- Fluorescent protein technology provides unprecedented insights into cancer cell biology in vivo.
- This advancement facilitates a deeper understanding of cancer cell spread at the subcellular level.
- Paved the way for the emerging field of in vivo cell biology.
Related Concept Videos
02:11Reporter Genes
Reporter genes are a type of protein-coding gene that are often tagged to a gene of interest. Once inside a target cell, reporter genes usually produce visually identifiable characteristics like fluorescence and luminescence when expressed along with the gene of interest. Thus, reporter genes “report” the presence or absence of genes of interest in an organism, determine the gene expression pattern, or track the physical location of a DNA segment or protein in the cell.
Commonly used reporter...
Commonly used reporter...
01:19Protein 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...
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...