Probing cell membrane integrity using a histone-targeting protein nanocage displaying precisely positioned fluorophores

Cell membrane integrity is fundamental to the normal activities of cells and is involved in both acute and chronic pathologies. Here, we report a probe for analyzing cell membrane integrity developed from a 9 nm-sized protein nanocage named Dps via fluorophore conjugation with high spatial precision to avoid self-quenching. The probe cannot enter normal live cells but can accumulate in dead or live cells with damaged membranes, which, interestingly, leads to weak cytoplasmic and strong nuclear staining. This differential staining is found attributed to the high affinity of Dps for histones rather than DNA, providing a staining mechanism different from those of known membrane exclusion probes (MEPs). Moreover, the Dps nanoprobe is larger in size and thus applies a more stringent criterion for identifying severe membrane damage than currently available MEPs. This study shows the potential of Dps as a new bioimaging platform for biological and medical analyses.

• Publication year

  2022

• Venue

  Nano Reseach

• Publication date

  2022-09-02

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Materials Science, Chemistry

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1007/s12274-022-4785-5PMID 36090614PMCID 9438879
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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