Quantifying E2F1 protein dynamics in single cells

Abstract

The Rb/E2F pathway plays a central role in regulating cell-fate decisions and cell-cycle progression. The E2F1 protein, a major effector of the pathway, is regulated via a combination of transcriptional, translational and posttranslational constraints. Elucidating the regulation and impact of the Rb/E2F pathway requires direct measurement of E2F1 dynamics in single cells. To this end, we have engineered fluorescent E2F1 protein reporters to enable live detection and quantification in single cells. The reporter constructs expressed an E2F1-Venus fusion protein under the regulation of the mouse or human E2F1 promoter and contained or excluded the 3UTR of the E2F1 gene, a sequence that contains miRNA regulatory regions that modulate expression of the protein. Expression of the reporter protein was highly dynamic during the cell cycle: there was no or little fluorescent signal in G0, but levels steadily increased during late G1 and peaked during mid to late S phase before returning to baseline before the onset of mitosis. The absence of the E2F1 3UTR in the constructs led to considerably higher steady-state levels of the fusion protein, which although normally regulated, exhibited a slightly less complex dynamic profile during the cell cycle or genotoxic stress. Lastly, the presence or absence of Rb failed to impact in substantial ways the overall detection and levels of the reporters.