TY - JOUR
T1 - Merlin
T2 - A novel BRET-based proximity biosensor for studying mitochondria–ER contact sites
AU - Hertlein, Vanessa
AU - Flores-Romero, Hector
AU - Das, Kushal K.
AU - Fischer, Sebastian
AU - Heunemann, Michael
AU - Calleja-Felipe, Maria
AU - Knafo, Shira
AU - Hipp, Katharina
AU - Harter, Klaus
AU - Fitzgerald, Julia C.
AU - García-Sáez, Ana J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Hertlein et al.
PY - 2020/1/1
Y1 - 2020/1/1
N2 - The contacts between the ER and mitochondria play a key role in cellular functions such as the exchange of lipids and calcium between both organelles, as well as in apoptosis and autophagy signaling. The molecular architecture and spatiotemporal regulation of these distinct contact regions remain obscure and there is a need for new tools that enable tackling these questions. Here, we present a new bioluminescence resonance energy transfer–based biosensor for the quantitative analysis of distances between the ER and mitochondria that we call MERLIN (Mitochondria–ER Length Indicator Nanosensor). The main advantages of MERLIN compared with available alternatives are that it does not rely on the formation of artificial physical links between the two organelles, which could lead to artifacts, and that it allows to study contact site reversibility and dynamics. We show the applicability of MERLIN by characterizing the role of the mitochondrial dynamics machinery on the contacts of this organelle with the ER.
AB - The contacts between the ER and mitochondria play a key role in cellular functions such as the exchange of lipids and calcium between both organelles, as well as in apoptosis and autophagy signaling. The molecular architecture and spatiotemporal regulation of these distinct contact regions remain obscure and there is a need for new tools that enable tackling these questions. Here, we present a new bioluminescence resonance energy transfer–based biosensor for the quantitative analysis of distances between the ER and mitochondria that we call MERLIN (Mitochondria–ER Length Indicator Nanosensor). The main advantages of MERLIN compared with available alternatives are that it does not rely on the formation of artificial physical links between the two organelles, which could lead to artifacts, and that it allows to study contact site reversibility and dynamics. We show the applicability of MERLIN by characterizing the role of the mitochondrial dynamics machinery on the contacts of this organelle with the ER.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076376606&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.26508/lsa.201900600
DO - 10.26508/lsa.201900600
M3 - Article
C2 - 31818884
AN - SCOPUS:85076376606
SN - 2575-1077
VL - 3
JO - Life Science Alliance
JF - Life Science Alliance
IS - 1
M1 - e201900600
ER -