What is it about?
We have developed a new transgenic mouse line expressing a FRET-based tension sensor in actinin, an actin-binding protein. We confirmed that the FRET ratio decreases in response to mechanical stretch in various tissues including the aortic wall and tendon fascicles as well as smooth muscle cells isolated from the aortic wall.
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Photo by Ricky Kharawala on Unsplash
Why is it important?
A group in Canada has already developed a similar transgenic mouse line. However, it was necessary to use a very expensive microscope (FLIM) to observe the FRET ratio change in their mouse line. In contrast in the case of our mouse, changes in mechanical tension in various tissues and cells can be observed with a conventional confocal microscope as the change in the ratio of the power of green fluorescent light to red.
Perspectives
Our mouse line can be used widely for the measurement of mechanical tension changes in tissues and cells because FRET ratio change can be observed with a conventional confocal laser scanning microscope with a widely-used combination of fluorescent light (red and green).
Prof. Takeo Matsumoto
Nagoya University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: In situ FRET measurement of cellular tension using conventional confocal laser microscopy in newly established reporter mice expressing actinin tension sensor, Scientific Reports, December 2023, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50142-z.
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