This technology is a genetically encoded lactate indicator that utilizes split fluorescent proteins to allow for the imaging of multiple metabolites simultaneously.
Lactic acid is crucial for maintaining normal metabolism and healthy cell signaling. One of the few in vivo methods of enzymatic analysis utilizes a genetically encoded lactate indicator. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging can be used to quantify lactate in cells based on the interactions between the metabolite of interest and the fluorophore. However, this technique suffers from fundamental limitations in microscopy, making it difficult to measure the activity of several metabolites simultaneously.
This technology is a genetically encoded lactate indicator that utilizes split fluorescent proteins and a lactate binding domain to allow for metabolite imaging. Green fluorescent protein (GFP), yellow fluorescent protein (YFP), and cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) have been used to develop three types of split fluorescent-based lactate indicators that can be used to measure metabolites simultaneously. These indicators also enable selective targeting of expression in certain organelles, such as the nucleus. Additionally, this technology has been shown to work not only as a lactate indicator, but also a pyruvate indicator with the same methodology.
This technology has been validated with multiple cell types such as adult mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes, human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitors and NIH 3T3 and HEK 293T cell lines.
Patent Pending
IR CU17192
Licensing Contact: Ron Katz