Spatiotemporal dynamic monitoring of protein conformation changes by super-resolution imaging

Abstract

Super-resolution imaging is extensively employed in bioscience research, particularly for monitoring the spatio-temporal dynamics of protein aggregates. Protein aggregates are intricately associated with the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, tumors, and other illnesses. Traditional optical microscopy fails to capture the intricate structure of protein aggregates. In contrast, super-resolution imaging overcomes the diffraction limit and achieves high spatiotemporal resolution, enabling visualization of the dynamic process of protein aggregation. This paper begins with an overview of the broad meaning of protein aggregates, followed by a summary of fluorescent dyes suitable for super-resolution imaging techniques, including biofluorescent dyes and organic dyes. The focus lies on reviewing research progress pertaining to utilizing super-resolution imaging to investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics of protein aggregates while incorporating different types of super-resolution imaging techniques. In conclusion, super-resolution imaging provides a powerful tool for the study of protein aggregates, which helps to gain insight into the pathological mechanisms of related diseases and provides important information for finding effective therapeutic strategies.