LAUSR

Methods to label intercellular contact have attracted attention because of their potential in cell biological and medical applications for the analysis of intercellular communications. In this study, a simple and versatile method for chemoenzymatic labeling of intercellularly contacting cells is demonstrated using a cell‐surface anchoring reagent of a poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG)‐lipid conjugate. The surface of each cell in the cell pairs of interest were decorated with sortase A (SrtA) and triglycine peptide that were lipidated with PEG‐lipid. In the mixture of the two‐cell populations, the triglycine‐modified cells were enzymatically labeled with a fluorescent labeling reagent when in contact with SrtA‐modified cells on a substrate. The selective labeling of the contacting cells was confirmed by confocal microscopy. The method is a promising tool for selective visualization of intercellularly contacting cells in cell mixtures for cell‐cell communication analysis.