Monkey Kidney Cells with mEmerald-α-Actinin and mCherry-Lysosomes
By 1999, SV40 had been detected in a variety of human cancers such as brain tumors, bone cancers, and mesotheliomas - the same cancers that were created when the SV40 was introduced into animals. Numerous studies have challenged the relationship between the possible exposure of humans to SV40 and cancer incidence. However, conflicting research linking SV40 with various tumor types has led to inconsistent views concerning the possibility of SV40 as a human cancer virus. In the digital video sequence in this section, African green monkey kidney epithelial cells (BS-C-1 line) are shown expressing mEmerald fused to alpha-actinin and mCherry fused to lysosomes.
The fluorescent protein mEmerald is a variant of EGFP with improved brightness and photostability. In addition to the S65T and F64L mutations found in EGFP, mEmerald features four additional point mutations. Excitation and emission of mEmerald peak at 487 and 509 nanometers, respectively. The mCherry fluorescent protein is a member of the mFruit series of fluorescent proteins resulting from the directed evolution of mRFP1. mCherry exhibits peak excitation at 587 nanometers and peak emission at 610 nanometers.