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Sci. Signal., 15 February 2011
Vol. 4, Issue 160, p. ec48
[DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.4160ec48]

EDITORS' CHOICE

Cell Biology More or Less Durable

Stella M. Hurtley

Science, AAAS, Cambridge CB2 1LQ, UK

The ability to measure protein half-lives on a large scale in human cells should contribute to our understanding of a variety of physiological and pathological processes. To meet this goal, Eden et al. (see the Perspective by Plotkin) developed a method called bleach-chase. Bleach-chase was used to reveal an unexpectedly simple response of fluorescently tagged protein half-lives to stresses and to drugs that stop cell division: Long-lived proteins become longer-lived. It appears that changes in cell growth cause changes in the intracellular dilution rates of proteins, which are not balanced by corresponding changes in active protein degradation.

E. Eden, N. Geva-Zatorsky, I. Issaeva, A. Cohen, E. Dekel, T. Danon, L. Cohen, A. Mayo, U. Alon, Proteome half-life dynamics in living human cells. Science 331, 764–768 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text]

J. B. Plotkin, The lives of proteins. Science 331, 683–684 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text]

Citation: S. M. Hurtley, More or Less Durable. Sci. Signal. 4, ec48 (2011).

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