A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) in red: live cell imaging of thekappa opioid receptor-tdTomato fusion protein (KOPR-tdT) in neuronalcells

摘要

IntroductionIn contrast to green fluorescent protein and variants (GFPs), red fluorescent proteins (RFPs) have rarely been employed for generation of GPCR fusion proteins, likely because of formation of aggregates and cell toxicity of some RFPs. Among all the RFPs available, tdTomato (tdT), one of the non-aggregating RFP, has the highest brightness score (about 3 times that of eGFP) and unsurpassed photostability.