Targeting and tracing antigens in live cells with fluorescent nanobodies.

Rothbauer, Ulrich; Zolghadr, Kourosh; Tillib, Sergei; Nowak, Danny; Schermelleh, Lothar; Gahl, Anja; Backmann, Natalija; Conrath, Katja et al. · Nat Methods · 2006

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We fused the epitope-recognizing fragment of heavy-chain antibodies from Camelidae sp. with fluorescent proteins to generate fluorescent, antigen-binding nanobodies (chromobodies) that can be expressed in living cells. We demonstrate that chromobodies can recognize and trace antigens in different subcellular compartments throughout S phase and mitosis. Chromobodies should enable new functional studies, as potentially any antigenic structure can be targeted and traced in living cells in this fashion.

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