A Rapid, Reversible, and Tunable Method to Regulate Protein Function in Living Cells Using Synthetic Small Molecules

Laura A. Banaszynski, Ling chun Chen, Lystranne A. Maynard-Smith, A. G.Lisa Ooi, Thomas J. Wandless

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

656 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rapid and reversible methods for perturbing the function of specific proteins are desirable tools for probing complex biological systems. We have developed a general technique to regulate the stability of specific proteins in mammalian cells using cell-permeable, synthetic molecules. We engineered mutants of the human FKBP12 protein that are rapidly and constitutively degraded when expressed in mammalian cells, and this instability is conferred to other proteins fused to these destabilizing domains. Addition of a synthetic ligand that binds to the destabilizing domains shields them from degradation, allowing fused proteins to perform their cellular functions. Genetic fusion of the destabilizing domain to a gene of interest ensures specificity, and the attendant small-molecule control confers speed, reversibility, and dose-dependence to this method. This general strategy for regulating protein stability should enable conditional perturbation of specific proteins with unprecedented control in a variety of experimental settings.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)995-1004
Number of pages10
JournalCell
Volume126
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 8 2006

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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