A high-performance genetically encoded sensor for cellular imaging of PKC activity in vivo

Takaki Yahiro, Landon Bayless-Edwards, James A. Jones, Yizhou Zhuo, Lei Ma, Maozhen Qin, Tianyi Mao & Haining Zhong Nature Communications 16, 6378 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61729-7

“Here, we developed CKAR3, a genetically encoded fluorescence-lifetime sensor to visualize protein kinase C activity in vivo. Using two-photon FLIM in cells and behaving mice, we found seconds-scale PKC signals with ~5-fold larger lifetime dynamic range than prior sensors, revealing tonic cortical PKC activity at rest and locomotion-evoked, muscarinic receptor–dependent PKC transients in sparse motor-cortex neurons.”

Check out full article on Nature Communications here.