Three-Fragment Fluorescence Complementation for Imaging of Ternary Complexes under Physiological Conditions

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) occur in a vast variety of cellular processes, and many processes are regulated by multiple protein interactions. Identification of PPIs is essential for the analysis of biological pathways and to further understand underlying molecular mechanisms. However, visualization and identification of multiprotein complexes, including ternary complexes in living cells under physiological conditions, remains challenging. In this work, we reported a three-fragment fluorescence complementation (TFFC) by splitting the Venus fluorescent protein for visualizing ternary complexes in living cells under physiological conditions. With this Venus-based TFFC system, we identified the multi-interaction of weak-affinity ternary complexes under physiological conditions. The TFFC system was further applied to the analysis of multi-interactions during the HIV-1 integration process, revealing the important role of the barrier-to-autointegration factor protein in HIV-1 integration. This TFFC system provides a useful tool for visualizing and identifying ternary complexes in living cells under physiological conditions.