High throughput studies of gene expression using green fluorescent protein-oxidative stress promoter probe constructs - The potential for living chips

Green fluorescent protein fusions were constructed with several oxidative stress promoters from Escherichia coli. These promoters were chosen for their induction by reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals. When exposed to various free radical insults, the cells fluoresced with great specificity based on the corresponding ROS. In this work, we propose a way in which these constructs could be used to study the mode of action of a variety of antitumor drugs. This approach offers the possibility of complementing gene chip technology by the creation of living chips for high throughput screening as well as studying differential gene expression.