Spatially resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measured b
y fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), provides a method for tr
acing the catalytic activity of fluorescently tagged proteins inside live c
ell cultures and enables determination of the functional state of proteins
in fixed cells and tissues. Here, a dynamic marker of protein kinase C alph
a (PKC alpha) activation is identified and exploited. Activation of PKC alp
ha is detected through the binding of fluorescently tagged phosphorylation
site-specific antibodies; the consequent FRET is measured through the donor
fluorophore on PKC alpha by FLIM. This approach enabled the imaging of PKC
alpha activation in live and fixed cultured cells and was also applied to
pathological samples.