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Enzyme-Mediated Intercellular Proximity Labeling for Detecting Cell-Cell Interactions
Yun Ge1, Long Chen1, Shibo Liu1
1Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering , Peking University , Beijing , China.
Abstract:
Cell-cell interactions and communications play fundamental roles in life processes but remain largely uncharacterized. We developed an enzyme-mediated proximity cell labeling (EXCELL) strategy as a general method to detect and record cell-cell interactions under living conditions. EXCELL relies on an evolved Staphylococcus aureus transpeptidase sortase A variant (mgSrtA) capable of promiscuous labeling of various cell surface proteins containing a monoglycine residue at the N-terminus. Displaying mgSrtA on the surface of a cell of interest allows the labeling and detection of interacting cells in a proximity-dependent fashion.
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