F-actin label in LIVE cells

[Tobias Baskin]

Greetings,
         This may be "stating the obvious" but for many years folks have
been labeling actin in cells with rhodamine phalloidin. There are a number
of variants, different fluorophores etc, Molecular Probes will have lots of
them, and info/citations in their catalog. While it is true that this
compound can exert a stabilizing effect on actin filaments, it is typically
used as a label at concentrations well below those where obvious
stabilization effects occur.
        Hope this helps
                        Tobias Baskin


>Molecular Probes (503-465-8300) has a new peptide called
>jasplakinolide, which they describe as "somewhat cell-permeant".  As of
>now, they're only offering un-labeled peptide, but they or you might be
>able to label it.
>
>Otherwise, you probably need to use something like fluorescently
>labeled anti-actin and introduce it into cells by e.g. scrape-loading,
>electroporation, microinjection, etc. (see many articles in JCB by DL
>Taylor, Yu-Li Wang, etc.)

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       ___     ____   ^         ____        _____    Tobias I. Baskin
      /   \   /      / \       /    \      /        University of Missouri
     /    |  /      /   \     /           /        Biological Sciences
    /___ /  /__    /_____\   /           /__      109 Tucker Hall
   /       /      /       \  (          /        Columbia, MO 65211 USA
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