Visualization of Intracellular Hydrogen Peroxide with the Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Probe HyPer in NIH-3T3 Cells

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in regulating normal physiological cell functions as second messengers as well as nonspecific damage of biomolecules in a pathological process known as oxidative stress. The HyPer family of genetically encoded probes are a useful noninvasive tool for monitoring the real-time dynamics of ROS in individual cells or model organisms. HyPer, the first genetically encoded probe for detection of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), is oxidized with high specificity and sensitivity by H2O2, leading to ratiometric changes in the fluorescence excitation spectrum of the probe. These changes can be detected with a wide range of commercial confocal and wide-field microscope systems. Here we describe a detailed protocol for ratiometric monitoring of H2O2 produced by D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) or by NADPH oxidase (NOX) in NIH-3T3 cells using the HyPer probe.