Genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines

Abstract Polyamines are abundant and evolutionarily conserved metabolites that are essential for life. Dietary polyamine supplementation extends life-span and health-span. Dysregulation of polyamine homeostasis is linked to Parkinson’s disease and cancer, driving interest in therapeutically targetin...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pushkal Sharma, Colin Y. Kim, Heather R. Keys, Shinya Imada, Alex B. Joseph, Luke Ferro, Tenzin Kunchok, Rachel Anderson, Yulin Sun, Ömer H. Yilmaz, Jing-Ke Weng, Ankur Jain
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-05-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60147-z
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849688149785051136
author Pushkal Sharma
Colin Y. Kim
Heather R. Keys
Shinya Imada
Alex B. Joseph
Luke Ferro
Tenzin Kunchok
Rachel Anderson
Yulin Sun
Ömer H. Yilmaz
Jing-Ke Weng
Ankur Jain
author_facet Pushkal Sharma
Colin Y. Kim
Heather R. Keys
Shinya Imada
Alex B. Joseph
Luke Ferro
Tenzin Kunchok
Rachel Anderson
Yulin Sun
Ömer H. Yilmaz
Jing-Ke Weng
Ankur Jain
author_sort Pushkal Sharma
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Polyamines are abundant and evolutionarily conserved metabolites that are essential for life. Dietary polyamine supplementation extends life-span and health-span. Dysregulation of polyamine homeostasis is linked to Parkinson’s disease and cancer, driving interest in therapeutically targeting this pathway. However, measuring cellular polyamine levels, which vary across cell types and states, remains challenging. We introduce a genetically encoded polyamine reporter for real-time measurement of polyamine concentrations in single living cells. This reporter utilizes the polyamine-responsive ribosomal frameshift motif from the OAZ1 gene. We demonstrate broad applicability of this approach and reveal dynamic changes in polyamine levels in response to genetic and pharmacological perturbations. Using this reporter, we conduct a genome-wide CRISPR screen and uncover an unexpected link between mitochondrial respiration and polyamine import, which are both risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. By offering a lens to examine polyamine biology, this reporter may advance our understanding of these ubiquitous metabolites and accelerate therapy development.
format Article
id doaj-art-4350da2ac1a3424caa28bc65932cbce7
institution DOAJ
issn 2041-1723
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-4350da2ac1a3424caa28bc65932cbce72025-08-20T03:22:07ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-05-0116111610.1038/s41467-025-60147-zGenetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyaminesPushkal Sharma0Colin Y. Kim1Heather R. Keys2Shinya Imada3Alex B. Joseph4Luke Ferro5Tenzin Kunchok6Rachel Anderson7Yulin Sun8Ömer H. Yilmaz9Jing-Ke Weng10Ankur Jain11Whitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchWhitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchWhitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchThe David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MITWhitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchWhitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchWhitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchWhitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchInstitute for Plant-Human Interface, Northeastern UniversityThe David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MITWhitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchWhitehead Institute for Biomedical ResearchAbstract Polyamines are abundant and evolutionarily conserved metabolites that are essential for life. Dietary polyamine supplementation extends life-span and health-span. Dysregulation of polyamine homeostasis is linked to Parkinson’s disease and cancer, driving interest in therapeutically targeting this pathway. However, measuring cellular polyamine levels, which vary across cell types and states, remains challenging. We introduce a genetically encoded polyamine reporter for real-time measurement of polyamine concentrations in single living cells. This reporter utilizes the polyamine-responsive ribosomal frameshift motif from the OAZ1 gene. We demonstrate broad applicability of this approach and reveal dynamic changes in polyamine levels in response to genetic and pharmacological perturbations. Using this reporter, we conduct a genome-wide CRISPR screen and uncover an unexpected link between mitochondrial respiration and polyamine import, which are both risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. By offering a lens to examine polyamine biology, this reporter may advance our understanding of these ubiquitous metabolites and accelerate therapy development.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60147-z
spellingShingle Pushkal Sharma
Colin Y. Kim
Heather R. Keys
Shinya Imada
Alex B. Joseph
Luke Ferro
Tenzin Kunchok
Rachel Anderson
Yulin Sun
Ömer H. Yilmaz
Jing-Ke Weng
Ankur Jain
Genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines
Nature Communications
title Genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines
title_full Genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines
title_fullStr Genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines
title_full_unstemmed Genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines
title_short Genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines
title_sort genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60147-z
work_keys_str_mv AT pushkalsharma geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT colinykim geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT heatherrkeys geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT shinyaimada geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT alexbjoseph geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT lukeferro geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT tenzinkunchok geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT rachelanderson geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT yulinsun geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT omerhyilmaz geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT jingkeweng geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines
AT ankurjain geneticallyencodedfluorescentreporterforpolyamines