Superresolution imaging techniques based on the precise localization of single molecules, such as photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM) and stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), achieve high resolution by fitting images of single fluorescent molecules with a theoretical Gaussian to localize them with a precision on the order of tens of nanometers. PALM/STORM rely on photoactivated proteins or photoswitching dyes, respectively, which makes them technically challenging. We present a simple and practical way of producing point localization-based superresolution images that does not require photoactivatable or photoswitching probes. Called bleaching/blinking assisted localization microscopy (BaLM), the technique relies on the intrinsic bleaching and blinking behaviors characteristic of all commonly used fluorescent probes. To detect single fluorophores, we simply acquire a stream of fluorescence images. Fluorophore bleach or blink-off events are detected by subtracting from each image of the series the subsequent image. Similarly, blink-on events are detected by subtracting from each frame the previous one. After image subtractions, fluorescence emission signals from single fluorophores are identified and the localizations are determined by fitting the fluorescence intensity distribution with a theoretical Gaussian. We also show that BaLM works with a spectrum of fluorescent molecules in the same sample. Thus, BaLM extends single molecule-based superresolution localization to samples labeled with multiple conventional fluorescent probes.

Mechanotransduction in the mammalian auditory system depends on mechanosensitive channels in the hair bundles that project from the apical surface of the sensory hair cells. Individual stereocilia within each bundle contain a core of tightly packed actin filaments, whose length is dynamically regulated during development and in the adult. We show that the actin-binding protein epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate 8 (Eps8)L2, a member of the Eps8-like protein family, is a newly identified hair bundle protein that is localized at the tips of stereocilia of both cochlear and vestibular hair cells. It has a spatiotemporal expression pattern that complements that of Eps8. In the cochlea, whereas Eps8 is essential for the initial elongation of stereocilia, Eps8L2 is required for their maintenance in adult hair cells. In the absence of both proteins, the ordered staircase structure of the hair bundle in the cochlea decays. In contrast to the early profound hearing loss associated with an absence of Eps8, Eps8L2 nullmutant mice exhibit a late-onset, progressive hearing loss that is directly linked to a gradual deterioration in hair bundle morphology. We conclude that Eps8L2 is required for the long-term maintenance of the staircase structure and mechanosensory function of auditory hair bundles. It complements the developmental role of Eps8 and is a candidate gene for progressive age-related hearing loss.deafness | sensory system | ion channel H earing and balance depend on the transduction of mechanical stimuli into electrical signals. Transduction involves activation of mechanically gated ion channels near the tips of the stereocilia, specialized microvilli that form the hair bundles that project from the surface of sensory hair cells (1). Stereocilia have a cytoskeletal core composed of tightly packed, cross-linked, and uniformly polarized actin filaments (2, 3). Stereociliary length is regulated to ensure the characteristic staircase-like structure of each bundle, whose overall size and shape depends on location along the sensory organ (4). In the mammalian cochlea, hair bundles usually include three rows of stereocilia coupled by several types of extracellular links (2, 5). The embryonic and postnatal development of the bundle involves elongation and thickening of stereocilia, as well as elimination of redundant stereocilia (4, 5).In the adult cochlea, the height of stereocilia within each row is similar, not only within a single hair bundle but also between the bundles of adjacent hair cells, indicating a sophisticated level of control over growth (5, 6). Stereociliary growth and maintenance involves actin-binding proteins such as espin (7,8), plastin (9), twinfilin 2 (10), gelsolin (11), and unconventional myosin motors including myosin XVa (12) and myosin IIIa (13). Currently, we do not have a complete molecular understanding of hair bundle structure or how its growth and maintenance are controlled. Recently, we showed that epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate 8 (Eps8) (14) is located ...

Telomerase activation is critical for the immortalization of primary human keratinocytes by the high-risk HPV E6 and E7 oncoproteins, and this activation is mediated in part by E6-induction of the hTERT promoter. E6 induces the hTERT promoter via interactions with the cellular ubiquitin ligase, E6AP, and with the c-Myc and NFX-1 proteins, which are resident on the promoter. In the current study we demonstrate that E6 protein interacts directly with the hTERT protein. Correlating with its ability to bind hTERT, E6 also associates with telomeric DNA and with endogenous active telomerase complexes. Most importantly, E6 increases the telomerase activity of human foreskin fibroblasts transduced with the hTERT gene, and this activity is independent of hTERT mRNA expression. Unlike its ability to degrade p53, E6 does not degrade hTERT protein in vitro or in vivo. Our studies of E6/hTERT interactions also reveal that the C-terminal tagged hTERT protein, although incapable of immortalizing fibroblasts, does immortalize keratinocytes in collaboration with the viral E7 protein. Thus, E6 protein mediates telomerase activation by a posttranscriptional mechanism and these findings provide a model for exploring the direct modulation of cell telomerase/telomere function by an oncogenic virus and suggest its potential role in both neoplasia and virus replication.cell immortalization ͉ hTERT ͉ oncoproteins ͉ papillomavirus T he HPV-16 E6 oncoprotein increases cellular telomerase activity, predominantly by inducing transcription of the hTERT gene (1-6). The hTERT protein is the catalytic, ratelimiting subunit of the telomerase enzyme complex and is selectively expressed in a small subset of normal cells (stem cells), tumor tissues, and tumor-derived cell lines (7-10). Interestingly, overexpression of hTERT or c-Myc (which transactivates the hTERT promoter) can substitute for E6 in the immortalization of primary HFKs, indicating that telomerase activation constitutes a major immortalizing function of E6 (11,12). Our previous studies and those of other laboratories indicate that E6-mediated hTERT transactivation is independent of its ability to degrade p53 or interact with PDZ proteins (11-16). However, hTERT transactivation by E6 is dependent upon its binding the cellular ubiquitin ligase, E6AP (13,14,(17)(18)(19)(20). There appear to be two critical targets for E6/E6AP on the hTERT promoter, Myc (12, 15, 16) and NFX-1 (13, 18, 21), which transactivate and transrepress the promoter respectively. The model for E6 regulation of the hTERT promoter is likely to be quite complex and it is anticipated that there might be additional targets for E6 on this promoter.In addition to activating telomerase, E6 interacts with a spectrum of cellular proteins that may contribute to HPV oncogenicity. For example, E6 binds proteins that regulate cell differentiation, adhesion, polarity, proliferation, apoptosis, gene transcription, and chromosomal stability (22,23). E6 interacts with these target proteins via several mechanisms, including two known ...