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A genetic reporter system to gauge cell proliferation rate
Author(s) -
Peacock Ryan W.S.,
Wang Clifford L.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.23163
Subject(s) - e2f , reporter gene , cell cycle , transcription (linguistics) , cell growth , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , gene , transcription factor , gene expression , computational biology , genetics , linguistics , philosophy
In higher eukaryotes, E2F transcription factors often drive expression of genes necessary for the cell cycle, notably the G1/S phase transition. With conventional transcriptional reporter systems, expression of a reporter gene from an E2F‐responsive promoter would allow one to identify the fraction of cells making this transition. Here, we have engineered an E2F‐responsive genetic reporter system that outputs the proliferation rate. The system takes advantage of the long half‐lives of fluorescent protein reporters and output signal normalization. By doing so, it converts dynamic pulses of E2F activity into an analog output proportional to the proliferation rate. Such a system should be useful for applications involving high‐throughput drug or genetic screens, investigation of cellular environment, and biological engineering. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011;108:2003–2010. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.