Aequorin-based genetic approaches to visualize Ca^2 + signaling in developing animal systems

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• 作者：Sarah E. Webb^a ; ¹ ; ^{barnie@ust.hk} ; Andrew L. Miller^a ; ^b ; ¹ ; ^{almiller@ust.hk}
• 关键词：Apoaequorin expression ; Aequorin luminescence ; Coelenterazine ; Developmental Ca2  ; + signaling ; Intact embryo and animal
• 刊名：Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)/General Subjects
• 出版年：2012
• 出版时间：August, 2012
• 年：2012
• 卷：1820
• 期：8
• 页码：1160-1168
• 全文大小：927 K

文摘

Background

In recent years, as our understanding of the various roles played by Ca^2 + signaling in development and differentiation has expanded, the challenge of imaging Ca^2 + dynamics within living cells, tissues, and whole animal systems has been extended to include specific signaling activity in organelles and non-membrane bound sub-cellular domains.

Scope of review

In this review we outline how recent advances in genetics and molecular biology have contributed to improving and developing current bioluminescence-based Ca^2 + imaging techniques. Reporters can now be targeted to specific cell types, or indeed organelles or domains within a particular cell.

Major conclusions

These advances have contributed to our current understanding of the specificity and heterogeneity of developmental Ca^2 + signaling. The improvement in the spatial resolution that results from specifically targeting a Ca^2 + reporter has helped to reveal how a ubiquitous signaling messenger like Ca^2 + can regulate coincidental but different signaling events within an individual cell; a Ca^2 + signaling paradox that until now has been hard to explain.

General significance

Techniques used to target specific reporters via genetic means will have applications beyond those of the Ca^2 + signaling field, and these will, therefore, make a significant contribution in extending our understanding of the signaling networks that regulate animal development. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Biochemical, biophysical and genetic approaches to intracellular calcium signalling.