Cytometry. Part A : the journal of the International Society for Analytical Cytology
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Fluorescence and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (FRET, BRET) techniques are powerful tools for studying protein-protein interactions in cellular assays. In contrast to fluorescent proteins, chemiluminescent proteins do not require excitation light, known to trigger autofluorescence, phototoxicity, and photobleaching. Regrettably, low signal intensity of luciferase systems restricts their usage as they require specialized microscopes equipped with ultra low-light imaging cameras. ⋯ With such equipment, we showed that robust intramolecular BRET can be measured using a combination of Nluc and yellow fluorescent protein (YFP). Using the human Superoxide Dismutase 1 (SOD1) dimer model, we next validated that intermolecular BRET could be quantified at a single cell level. The enhanced signal brightness of Nluc enabling BRET imaging to widefield microscopy shows strong potential to open up single cell protein-protein interactions studies to a wider audience. © 2016 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.