Membrane protein stoichiometry studied in intact mammalian cells using liquid ‐phase electron microscopy

We describe a new electron microscopy method capable of examining protein complexes in whole cells at the single molecule and single cell level. This technique is liquid‐phase scanning transmission electron microscopy, in short, liquid STEM. The method was used to image epidermal growth factor receptors in whole mammalian cells. Its application to study the functional state of so‐called HER2 protein in breast cancer cells revealed the presence of rare cancer cells in which HER2 was in a different functional state than in the bulk cells, and these rare cells are possibly important as pharmaceutical targets.
Source: Journal of Microscopy - Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Themed Issue Paper Source Type: research