Live-cell analyses of transport complex formation with FRET

A major goal in modern cell biology is to understand in detail interactions between proteins of interest, and the interactions of proteins with other molecules on the single cell level. Single-cell assays that asses the dynamics of protein-protein complex formation will become increasingly important tools for the analysis of membrane trafficking and of signalling networks, as well as for analyses of rapid cellular responses to a stimulus. The recently emerged methods (FRET, FCS, FLIM) suitable for single-cell analysis can potentially provide quantitative spatiotemporal information on simultaneous measurements occurring on many proteins, and thus are powerful tools for revealing the functional relationships between proteins in cells and study the cross-talk between different cellular pathways. Applying combinations of these complementary methods will be even more powerful.