Engineered split reporter systems for molecular imaging of protein-protein interactions in living subjects

Abstract

In the last decade, there has been a veritable explosion in the field of reporter gene imaging, with the aim of determining the location(s), duration, and extent of gene expression within living subjects. An important application of this is in molecular imaging of interacting protein partners, an area that could pave the way to functional proteomics in living animals and provide a tool for whole-body evaluation of new pharmaceuticals targeted to modulate protein-protein interactions. We review the main methods currently available for imaging protein-protein interactions in living subjects using molecularly engineered and rationally designed split reporter gene and protein systems tailored to various protein complementation and reconstitution strategies.