Using BODIPY FL-Sphingolipid Analogs to Study Sphingolipid Metabolism in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Overview

Journal Bio Protoc

Specialty Biology

Date 2022 Dec 19

PMID 36532684

Authors

Wei Fan

Xiaoling Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Sphingolipids are important structural components of cellular membranes. They also function as prominent signaling molecules to control a variety of cellular events, such as cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. Impaired sphingolipid metabolism, particularly defects in sphingolipid degradation, has been associated with many human diseases. Fluorescence sphingolipid analogs have been widely used as efficient probes to study sphingolipid metabolism and intracellular trafficking in living mammalian cells. Compared with nitrobenzoxadiazole fluorophores (NBD FL), the boron dipyrromethene difluoride fluorophores (BODIPY FL) have much higher absorptivity and fluorescence quantum. These features allow more intensive labeling of cells for fluorescence microscopy imaging and flow cytometry analysis. Here, we describe a protocol employing BODIPY FL-labeled sphingolipid analogs to elucidate sphingolipid internalization, trafficking, and endocytosis in mouse embryonic stem cells. eLife (2022), DOI: 10.7554/eLife.67452 Graphical abstract.

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