Issue 3, 2024

Photoactivation of LOV domains with chemiluminescence

Abstract

Optogenetics has opened new possibilities in the remote control of diverse cellular functions with high spatiotemporal precision using light. However, delivering light to optically non-transparent systems remains a challenge. Here, we describe the photoactivation of light-oxygen-voltage-sensing domains (LOV domains) with in situ generated light from a chemiluminescence reaction between luminol and H2O2. This activation is possible due to the spectral overlap between the blue chemiluminescence emission and the absorption bands of the flavin chromophore in LOV domains. All four LOV domain proteins with diverse backgrounds and structures (iLID, BcLOV4, nMagHigh/pMagHigh, and VVDHigh) were photoactivated by chemiluminescence as demonstrated using a bead aggregation assay. The photoactivation with chemiluminescence required a critical light-output below which the LOV domains reversed back to their dark state with protein characteristic kinetics. Furthermore, spatially confined chemiluminescence produced inside giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) was able to photoactivate proteins both on the membrane and in solution, leading to the recruitment of the corresponding proteins to the GUV membrane. Finally, we showed that reactive oxygen species produced by neutrophil like cells can be converted into sufficient chemiluminescence to recruit the photoswitchable protein BcLOV4-mCherry from solution to the cell membrane. The findings highlight the utility of chemiluminescence as an endogenous light source for optogenetic applications, offering new possibilities for studying cellular processes in optically non-transparent systems.

Graphical abstract: Photoactivation of LOV domains with chemiluminescence

Supplementary files

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Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
12 Sep 2023
Accepted
08 Dec 2023
First published
11 Dec 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2024,15, 1027-1038

Photoactivation of LOV domains with chemiluminescence

Y. Ji, A. Heidari, B. Nzigou Mombo and S. V. Wegner, Chem. Sci., 2024, 15, 1027 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC04815B

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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