The labeling method gives a new vision of the proteins inside our cells

Scientists Create a New Way to Look at Proteins Inside Human Cells

The researchers' method allows an electron microscope to accurately display proteins, contrary to current methods. They named the new FerriTag technique because it is based on ferritin, which an electron microscope can see because iron diffuses electrons. Ferritin is a big protein shell that our cells use to store iron.

The team set out to accurately locate a protein found in clathrin-coated pits. These are 100-nm wide entry points that viruses use to invade and infect cells. Using FerriTag, the team was able to see where the protein is in the pit and on the inside surface of the cell surface.

"Proteins do almost all the work in the cells that scientists want to study, so we can learn a lot about how proteins work by simply observing them under a microscope, but we need to know where they are," says Stephen. Royle, Associate Professor and Senior Researcher in Cancer Research at the University of Warwick Medical School and Head of the Research Team

Although optical microscopy can be used, the resolution is low, so to see the precise location of a protein is impossible.Microscopy, which gives a higher resolution, can overcome this limitation.

To see the proteins by both microscopes and correlate them, the researchers developed a method The labeling is widely used and several labels are available, although they have Disadvantages: Some are not specific enough or do not work on single proteins. To overcome this, Royle's lab created a new label and fused it with a fluorescent protein.

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Royle says his lab also has to overcome another hurdle: "When Ferritin is fused to a protein, we end up with a slurry, so we've modified Ferritin so that 39 it could be attached to the protein of interest using a drug.This meant that we could put the FerriTag on the protein we want to image in a few seconds.

"The interesting thing about FerriTag is that it is genetically encoded. This means that we get the cell to make the label itself and that we do not need to put it on the outside, which would damage the cell, "explains Royle

. research appears in the journal Nature Communications

Source: University of Warwick