Photochromic Fluorescent Proteins Research Articles

Nanoscopy of Living Brain Slices with Low Light Levels

Lens-based fluorescence microscopy, which has long been limited in resolution to about 200 nanometers by diffraction, is rapidly evolving into a nanoscale imaging technique. Here, we show that the superresolution fluorescence microscopy called RESOLFT enables comparatively fast and continuous imaging of sensitive, nanosized features in living brain tissue. Using low-intensity illumination to switch photochromic fluorescent proteins reversibly between a fluorescent and a nonfluorescent state, we increased the resolution more than 3-fold over that of confocal microscopy in all dimensions. Dendritic spines located 10-50 μm deep inside living organotypic hippocampal brain slices were recorded for hours without signs of degradation. Using a fast-switching protein increased the imaging speed 50-fold over reported RESOLFT schemes, which in turn enabled the recording of spontaneous and stimulated changes of dendritic actin filaments and spine morphology occurring on time scales from seconds to hours.

Focal switching of photochromic fluorescent proteins enables multiphoton microscopy with superior image contrast

Probing biological structures and functions deep inside live organisms with light is highly desirable. Among the current optical imaging modalities, multiphoton fluorescence microscopy exhibits the best contrast for imaging scattering samples by employing a spatially confined nonlinear excitation. However, as the incident laser power drops exponentially with imaging depth into the sample due to the scattering loss, the out-of-focus background eventually overwhelms the in-focus signal, which defines a fundamental imaging-depth limit. Herein we significantly improve the image contrast for deep scattering samples by harnessing reversibly switchable fluorescent proteins (RSFPs) which can be cycled between bright and dark states upon light illumination. Two distinct techniques, multiphoton deactivation and imaging (MPDI) and multiphoton activation and imaging (MPAI), are demonstrated on tissue phantoms labeled with Dronpa protein. Such a focal switch approach can generate pseudo background-free images. Conceptually different from wave-based approaches that try to reduce light scattering in turbid samples, our work represents a molecule-based strategy that focused on imaging probes.

Protein-flexibility mediated coupling between photoswitching kinetics and surrounding viscosity of a photochromic fluorescent protein.

Recent advances in fluorescent proteins (FPs) have generated a remarkable family of optical highlighters with special light responses. Among them, Dronpa exhibits a unique capability of reversible light-regulated on-off switching. However, the environmental dependence of this photochromism is largely unexplored. Herein we report that the photoswitching kinetics of the chromophore inside Dronpa is actually slowed down by increasing medium viscosity outside Dronpa. This finding is a special example of an FP where the environment can exert a hydrodynamic effect on the internal chromophore. We attribute this effect to protein-flexibility mediated coupling where the chromophore's cis-trans isomerization during photoswitching is accompanied by conformational motion of a part of the protein β-barrel whose dynamics should be hindered by medium friction. Consistent with this mechanism, the photoswitching kinetics of Dronpa-3, a structurally more flexible mutant, is found to exhibit a more pronounced viscosity dependence. Furthermore, we mapped out spatial distributions of microviscosity in live cells experienced by a histone protein using the photoswitching kinetics of Dronpa-3 fusion as a contrast mechanism. This unique reporter should provide protein-specific information about the crowded intracellular environments by offering a genetically encoded microviscosity probe, which did not exist with normal FPs before.

Photoswitching of E222Q GFP mutants: “concerted” mechanism of chromophore isomerization and protonation

Photochromic (i.e. reversibly photoswitchable) fluorescent proteins increasingly find applications as biomarkers for advanced bioimaging applications. From a mechanistic point of view, photochromicity usually stems from the reversible cis-trans photoisomerization of the chromophore. We demonstrated experimentally that cis-trans photoisomerization constitutes a very efficient deactivation pathway of isolated chromophores upon visible light excitation. Nonetheless, this intrinsic property is seldom displayed by chromophores in the folded protein structure. We found that the E222Q amino acid replacement restores efficient photochromicity in otherwise poorly switchable green fluorescent protein variants of different optical properties. Glutamic acid 222 is known to play a pivotal role in the inner proton wires that involve the GFP chromophore and the surrounding residues. Hence its substitution with an isosteric but non-ionizable residue presumably leads to a extensive rewiring of proton pathways around the chromophore, which has a deep effect also on the photochromic properties. In this work, we review and discuss the main photophysical properties of photochromic E222Q GFP mutants. Additionally we show, by means of flash-photolysis experiments, that chromophore cis to trans photoswitching involves a molecular mechanism where stereochemical isomerization and chromophore protonation occur in a coordinated way. Such a "concerted" mechanism is, in our opinion, at the basis of efficient photochromic behavior and might be activated by the E222Q mutation.

Molecular Basis of the Light-driven Switching of the Photochromic Fluorescent Protein Padron

Reversibly switchable fluorescent proteins can be repeatedly photoswitched between a fluorescent and a nonfluorescent state by irradiation with the light of two different wavelengths. The molecular basis of the switching process remains a controversial topic. Padron0.9 is a reversibly switchable fluorescent protein with "positive" switching characteristics, exhibiting excellent spectroscopic properties. Its chromophore is formed by the amino acids Cys-Tyr-Gly. We obtained high resolution x-ray structures of Padron0.9 in both the fluorescent and the nonfluorescent states and used the structural information for molecular dynamics simulations. We found that in Padron0.9 the chromophore undergoes a cis-trans isomerization upon photoswitching. The molecular dynamics simulations clarified the protonation states of the amino acid residues within the chromophore pocket that influence the protonation state of the chromophore. We conclude that a light driven cis-trans isomerization of the chromophore appears to be the fundamental switching mechanism in all photochromic fluorescent proteins known to date. Distinct absorption cross-sections for the switching wavelengths in the fluorescent and the nonfluorescent state are not essential for efficient photochromism in fluorescent proteins, although they may facilitate the switching process.

Data storage based on photochromic and photoconvertible fluorescent proteins

The recent discovery of photoconvertible and photoswitchable fluorescent proteins (PCFPs and RSFPs, respectively) that can undergo photoinduced changes of their absorption/emission spectra opened new research possibilities in subdiffraction microscopy and optical data storage. Here we demonstrate the proof-of-principle for read only and rewritable data storage both in 2D and 3D, using PCFPs and RSFPs. The irreversible burning of information was achieved by photoconverting from green to red defined areas in a layer of the PCFP Kaede. Data were also written and erased several times in layers of the photochromic fluorescent protein Dronpa. Using IrisFP, which combines the properties of PCFPs and RSFPs, we performed the first encoding of data in four colours using only one type of fluorescent protein. Finally, three-dimensional optical data storage was demonstrated using three mutants of EosFP (d1EosFP, mEosFP and IrisFP) in their crystalline form. Two-photon excitation allowed the precise addressing of regions of interest (ROIs) within the three-dimensional crystalline matrix without excitation of out-of-focus optical planes. Hence, this contribution highlights several data storage schemes based on the remarkable properties of PCFPs/RSFPs.

Low-temperature switching by photoinduced protonation in photochromic fluorescent proteins

We have studied the photoswitching behaviour of a number of photochromic fluorescent proteins at cryo-temperature. Spectroscopic investigations at the ensemble level showed that EYFP, Dronpa and IrisFP all exhibit reversible photoswitching at 100 K, albeit with a low quantum yield. The photophysics of the process were studied in more details in the case of EYFP. The data suggest that photoinduced protonation of the chromophore is responsible for off-switching at cryo-temperature, and thus is possible in the absence of significant conformational freedom. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that chromophore protonation may precede large amplitude conformational changes such as cis-trans isomerisation during off-photoswitching at room temperature. However, our data suggest that low-barrier photoinduced protonation pathways may in fact compete with room-temperature off-switching reactions in photochromic fluorescent proteins. The occurrence of reversible photoswitching at low-temperature is of interest to envisage cryo-nanoscopy experiments using genetically encoded fluorophores.

Visualization of Microtubule Disorganization in Endothelial Cells using Photochromic Fluorescent Protein

Visualization of Microtubule Disorganization in Endothelial Cells using Photochromic Fluorescent Protein

Raman Study of Chromophore States in Photochromic Fluorescent Proteins

The photophysical mechanism underlying the photochromic behavior of green fluorescent protein (GFP) mutants is investigated by means of preresonant Raman spectroscopy and model calculations. The studied molecules are reversibly switchable fluorophores that can be repeatedly converted between fluorescent and nonfluorescent states by irradiation and are attracting a broad interest for a number of new applications. Experimental results on chemically synthesized isolated chromophores are analyzed within a density functional theory approach that allows us to link the detected vibrational modes to specific ground-state configurations before and after photoconversion. These data are compared to results obtained for the case of complete folded proteins including the same chromophores. Our results highlight the impact of chromophore cis-trans isomerization and protonation state in the photophysics of these proteins and provide useful guidelines for novel mutant design.

Light-dependent regulation of structural flexibility in a photochromic fluorescent protein.

The structural basis for the photochromism in the fluorescent protein Dronpa is poorly understood, because the crystal structures of the bright state of the protein did not provide an answer to the mechanism of the photochromism, and structural determination of the dark state has been elusive. We performed NMR analyses of Dronpa in solution at ambient temperatures to find structural flexibility of the protein in the dark state. Light-induced changes in interactions between the chromophore and beta-barrel are responsible for switching between the two states. In the bright state, the apex of the chromophore tethers to the barrel by a hydrogen bond, and an imidazole ring protruding from the barrel stabilizes the plane of the chromophore. These interactions are disrupted by strong illumination with blue light, and the chromophore, together with a part of the beta-barrel, becomes flexible, leading to a nonradiative decay process.