Objective: To construct the fluorescence protein vector pairs with toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signal peptide, namely pECFP-C1-SP and pEYFP-C1-SP, therefore to make the application of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) possible in the study of the membrane protein interaction during lipopolysaccharide (LPS) recognition.
Methods: pECFP-C1-SP and pEYFP-C1-SP were constructed by means of site-directed mutagenesis, and the constructed plasmids were transiently transfected into NIH3T3 cells via lipofectamin to observe their intracellular expressions under a fluorescence microscope.
Results: DNA sequence analysis attested the validity of the constructed fluorescence vectors with signal peptide for FRET, and the expression of the vectors was located principally on the cell membrane as observed under fluorescence microscope.
Conclusion: The constructed vectors TLR4 signal peptide are valid and capable of expressing on the cell membrane, therefore they can be effectively used in the study of the interaction between the membrane proteins.