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Cytotoxicity of red fluorescent protein DsRed is associated with the suppression of Bcl-xL translation

  • Jun Zhou
  • , Jian Lin
  • , Cuihong Zhou
  • , Xiaoyan Deng*
  • , Bin Xia
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • Beihang University
  • Peking University

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Red fluorescent protein (RFP) DsRed and its variants are widely applied in live-cell imaging experiments. However, a major factor that restricts the application of DsRed is its cytotoxicity. Here, we report that DsRed and its variant DsRed-Express2 inhibit the expression of B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL) in HeLa cells by translational regulation. Over-expression of Bcl-xL can reduce the cytotoxicity of DsRed. Meanwhile, Turbo RFP, a mutant RFP from Entacmaea quadricolor, does not affect Bcl-xL expression, suggesting that cytotoxic mechanisms of RFP from different species may be varied. Our results reveal a possible mechanism for the cytotoxicity of DsRed, providing a potential strategy to improve the application of DsRed and its variants.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)821-827
Number of pages7
JournalFEBS Letters
Volume585
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 9 Mar 2011

Keywords

  • Bcl-xL
  • Cytotoxicity
  • DsRed
  • DsRed-Express2
  • Red fluorescent protein
  • Turbo RFP

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