GEM-IL: A highly responsive fluorescent lactate indicator

Area of Science:

• Cellular metabolism and signaling
• Biomedical engineering and biosensing

Background:

• Lactate metabolism plays critical roles in cellular functions, disease development, and pathophysiology.
• Existing methods for detecting lactate changes in live cells are limited, driving the need for novel approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel genetically encoded metabolic indicator for real-time detection of lactate.
• To enhance specificity and sensitivity in probing lactate dynamics within live cells.

Main Methods:

• Development of a genetically encoded metabolic indicator for probing lactate (GEM-IL) using superfolder fluorescent proteins and mutagenesis.
• Optimization of the indicator's design for improved specificity and sensitivity.
• Demonstration of GEM-IL functionality in human oncogenic neural progenitor cells and mouse primary ventricular myocytes.

Main Results:

• Successful development of GEM-IL, a novel genetically encoded lactate indicator.
• GEM-IL demonstrates enhanced specificity and sensitivity compared to previous lactate indicators (e.g., Laconic, Green Lindoblum).
• GEM-IL effectively detected lactate changes in distinct cell types, including human oncogenic neural progenitor cells and mouse primary ventricular myocytes.

Conclusions:

• The developed GEM-IL provides a powerful new tool for investigating lactate dynamics in live cells.
• GEM-IL has the potential to significantly advance our understanding of lactate's roles in cellular physiology and disease.
• This metabolic indicator opens new avenues for research in cellular metabolism and disease pathophysiology.