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Engineering Substrate Specificity of O 6 ‐Alkylguanine‐DNA Alkyltransferase for Specific Protein Labeling in Living Cells
Author(s) -
Juillerat Alexandre,
Heinis Christian,
Sielaff India,
Barnikow Jan,
Jaccard Hugues,
Kunz Beatrice,
Terskikh Alexey,
Johnsson Kai
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.200400431
Subject(s) - fusion protein , mutant , biology , dna , biochemistry , function (biology) , endogeny , protein engineering , microbiology and biotechnology , cell culture , in vitro , chemistry , recombinant dna , enzyme , genetics , gene
Fusion proteins of human O 6 ‐alkylguanine‐DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) can be specifically labeled with a wide variety of synthetic probes in mammalian cells; this makes them an attractive tool for studying protein function. However, to avoid undesired labeling of endogenous wild‐type AGT (wtAGT), the specific labeling of AGT fusion proteins has been restricted to AGT‐deficient mammalian cell lines. We present here the synthesis of an inhibitor of wtAGT and the generation of AGT mutants that are resistant to this inhibitor. This enabled the inactivation of wtAGT and specific labeling of fusion proteins of the AGT mutant in vitro and in living cells. The ability to specifically label AGT fusion proteins in the presence of endogenous AGT, after brief incubation of the cells with a small‐molecule inhibitor, should significantly broaden the scope of application of AGT fusion proteins for studying protein function in living cells.