Issue 12, 2017

Visualization of long-term Mg2+ dynamics in apoptotic cells using a novel targetable fluorescent probe

Abstract

Mg2+ plays important roles in many physiological processes. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms, especially in the apoptotic pathway, remain unclear due to the diffusion of Mg2+ probes, which hinders long-term imaging in specific organelles. We developed an immobilized Mg2+ probe, MGH, which is covalently conjugated with the HaloTag protein in various organelles. HaloTag-coupled MGH enabled long-term imaging of intracellular local Mg2+ dynamics for 24 h. To exploit this remarkable property, MGH was applied to the investigation of intracellular Mg2+ dynamics during apoptosis. Time-lapse imaging revealed an increase in the Mg2+ concentration after apoptotic cell shrinkage. Combined imaging analyses of intracellular Mg2+ and ATP concentrations strongly suggested that this Mg2+ concentration increase was caused by the dissociation of Mg2+ from ATP, along with a decrease in the intracellular ATP concentration. Thus, this protein-coupled Mg2+ probe could be a new chemical tool to elucidate intracellular Mg2+ dynamics with high spatiotemporal resolution.

Graphical abstract: Visualization of long-term Mg2+ dynamics in apoptotic cells using a novel targetable fluorescent probe

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
09 Sep 2017
Accepted
04 Oct 2017
First published
20 Oct 2017
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2017,8, 8255-8264

Visualization of long-term Mg2+ dynamics in apoptotic cells using a novel targetable fluorescent probe

Y. Matsui, Y. Funato, H. Imamura, H. Miki, S. Mizukami and K. Kikuchi, Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 8255 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC03954A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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