Abstract: Dynamic and complex cellular activities, such as cell communication and signal transduction, rely on the participation of various membrane receptors. Nucleic acid are important tools for developing membrane receptor visualization strategies in live cells. In this review, protein labeling techniques based on nucleic acid probes are summarized from two aspects: non-covalent target recognition and covalent coupling. The latest research progress of these labeling techniques in visualization of important molecular information, such as membrane receptor expression, glycoform and protein-protein interactions, was systematically reviewed. The existing challenges and future development in this field were discussed and prospected.

Key words: Membrane receptor, Nucleic acid probe, Protein labeling, Visualization