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Zhang J, Luo WC, Zhang Y, Li X, Jiang M, Huang K, Yu X, Xu L. Red emissive fluorescent carbon dots based on ternary carbon source for imaging α-synuclein fibrils. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 670:576-584. [PMID: 38776692 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.05.129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
The misfolding and aggregation of α-synuclein monomers usually cause the occurrence and development of Parkinson's disease (PD). It is important to develop effective methods for detection of α-synuclein aggregates. Carbon dots (CDs) could be the potential fluorescence probe for this purpose owing to their appreciated optical properties. However, undefined structure of CDs and complicated three-dimensional structure of protein severely hindered the design of fluorescence probe towards protein aggregates. Herein, a red emissive fluorescent amphiphilic CD, named as CL-9, was designed with a high sensitivity to α-synuclein fibrils by a one-step heating process, using the ternary carbon source, including Congo red, l-tryptophan and urea. The CL-9 exhibited turn-on red emissive fluorescence towards α-synuclein fibril, but remained no change towards its monomer. Compared with the original Congo red dye, CL-9 exhibited stronger turn-on red fluorescence towards α-synuclein fibrils with better anti-photobleaching resistance, biocompatibility and signal-to-noise ratio. The CL-9 was successful as a fluorescent probe to image α-synuclein fibrils in NL-5901 C. elegans. The present study provided a feasible approach using the multiple carbon sources to construct the CDs based fluorescence probe targeting amyloid proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jintao Zhang
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Wan-Chun Luo
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Xi Li
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Ming Jiang
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Kun Huang
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
| | - Xu Yu
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
| | - Li Xu
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
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2
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Zhang Y, Miao R, Sha H, Ma W, Huang Y, Chen H. A universal strategy for constructing high-performance silica-based AIE materials for biomedical application. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 669:419-429. [PMID: 38723531 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2024] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/27/2024]
Abstract
As an emerging fluorophore, aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) have received widespread attention in recent years, but the inherent drawbacks of AIEgens, such as the poor water-solubility and insufficient fluorescence stability in complex environments, restrict their performance in practical applications. Herein, we report a universal strategy based on hydrophobic dendritic mesoporous silica (HMSN) that can integrate different AIE molecules to construct multi-color fluorescent AIE materials. Specifically, HMSN with central radial pores was used as a powerful carrier for direct loading AIE molecules and restricting their intramolecular motions. Due to the pore-domain restriction effect and hydrophobic interaction, the obtained silica-based AIE materials have bright fluorescence with a maximum quantum yield of 68.38%, high colloidal/fluorescence stability, and excellent biosafety. Further, these silica-based AIE materials can be conjugated with functional antibodies to obtain probes with different targetability. After integration with immunomagnetic beads, the prepared detection probes achieved the quantitative detection of cardiac troponin I with the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.508 ng/mL. Overall, the targeting probes stemming from silica-based AIE materials can not only achieve cell-specific imaging, but quantify the number of Jurkat cells (LOD = 270 cells/mL) to further determine the specific etiology of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Ding-Xi Road, Shanghai 200050, China; Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Runjie Miao
- State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Ding-Xi Road, Shanghai 200050, China; Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Haifeng Sha
- State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Ding-Xi Road, Shanghai 200050, China
| | - Wenyan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Ding-Xi Road, Shanghai 200050, China; School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Sub-lane Xiangshan, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Yuefeng Huang
- State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Ding-Xi Road, Shanghai 200050, China; School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Sub-lane Xiangshan, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Hangrong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Ding-Xi Road, Shanghai 200050, China; Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China; School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Sub-lane Xiangshan, Hangzhou 310024, China.
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3
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Jin H, Shen D, Jing B, Zhang Z, Wang Z, Sun R, Zhang H, Sun J, Lyu H, Liu Y, Wang L. An epoxide-based covalent sensor to detect cardiac proteome aggregation in a cardio-oncology model. Anal Chim Acta 2023; 1278:341704. [PMID: 37709448 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.341704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Covalent sensors to detect and capture aggregated proteome in stressed cells are rare. Herein, we construct a series of covalent fluorogenic sensors for aggregated proteins by structurally modulating GFP chromophore and arming it with an epoxide warhead. Among them, P2 probe selectively modifies aggregated proteins over folded ones and turns on fluorescence as evidenced by biochemical and mass spectrometry results. The coverage of this epoxide-based covalent chemistry is demonstrated using different types of aggregated proteins. Finally, the covalent fluorescent sensor P2 allows for direct visualization and capture of aggregated proteome in stressed cardiomyocytes and cardiac tissue samples from a cardio-oncology mouse model. The epoxide-based covalent sensor developed herein may become useful for future chemical proteomics analysis of aggregated proteins to dissect the mechanism underlying cardio-oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Jin
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116023, PR China; CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China
| | - Di Shen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China
| | - Biao Jing
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116023, PR China; CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China
| | - Zhenduo Zhang
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116023, PR China; CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China
| | - Zhiming Wang
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116023, PR China; CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China
| | - Rui Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China
| | - Huaiyue Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China
| | - Jialu Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China
| | - Haochen Lyu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China
| | - Yu Liu
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116023, PR China.
| | - Lili Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, PR China.
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4
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Jing B, Li J, Guo K, Zeng L, Sui J, Zhang Z, Wang Z, Jin H, Sun J, Xue Z, Zhao Q, Wan W, Dong X. Solvatochromic sensors detect proteome aggregation in stressed liver tissues with hepatic cancer and cirrhosis. J Mater Chem B 2023; 11:7654-7662. [PMID: 37464917 DOI: 10.1039/d3tb00984j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Protein misfolding and aggregation involve complex cellular processes with clinical implications in various diseases. However, the detection of aggregated proteomes without defined 3-D structures in a complex biological milieu is challenging. This study utilizes chromone scaffold-based environment-sensitive fluorophores P1 and P2 to detect misfolded and aggregated proteome in stressed liver cells and the liver tissues diseased patients. The reported crystallization induced emission probes (P1 and P2) exhibit both polarity and viscosity sensitivity, with emission intensity and wavelength linearly correlated to viscosity and polarity. Meanwhile, P1 and P2 selectively and generally fluoresce upon binding to various aggregated proteins. In hepatic cells, P2 outperforms P1 in detecting stress-induced global proteome aggregation. In mouse liver tissue upon drug-induced injury, the fluorescence intensity of P2 correlated with the severity of liver injury, serving as an earlier indicator for liver stress prior to ALT/AST increase. The quantification of emission wavelength reveals lower micro-environmental polarity in liver-injury tissue. In patient-derived tissues with hepatic cancer and cirrhosis, P1 and P2 also report on the presence of aggregated proteome. Together, the reported solvatochromic proteome aggregation sensors can detect hepatic proteome aggregation and analyze its local polarity in cultured cell lines, animal model tissues, and human clinical samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biao Jing
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Junpeng Li
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Kun Guo
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
| | - Lianggang Zeng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Jidong Sui
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
| | - Zhenduo Zhang
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Zhiming Wang
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Hao Jin
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Jialu Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Zhao Xue
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
| | - Qi Zhao
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Wang Wan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Xuepeng Dong
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
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5
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Sun R, Zhang S, Liu Y, Li D. Chemical probes for investigating protein liquid-liquid phase separation and aggregation. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2023; 74:102291. [PMID: 37004350 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.102291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Protein liquid-liquid phase separation drives the dynamic assembly of membraneless organelles for fulfilling different physiological functions. Under diseased condition, protein may undergo liquid-to-solid condensation to form pathological amyloid aggregates closely associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Chemical probe serves as an important chemical tool not only for exploring the basic principle of the dynamic assembly of different protein condensates in vitro and in cell but also for clinical diagnosis and therapeutics of the related diseases. In this review, we first introduce chemical probes to image and regulate protein condensates. Then, we summarized three different categories of chemical probes including general amyloid dye, selective positron emission tomography tracer, and disaggregating binder, which feature distinct interaction pattern and activity upon binding to different pathological amyloid fibrillar aggregates. Next, we discuss the development of chemical probes for tracking protein amorphous aggregates in cells. Finally, we point out future direction in expanding the probes' chemical space and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China
| | - Shenqing Zhang
- Bio-X-Renji Hospital Research Center, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China; Zhangjiang Institute for Advanced Study, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yu Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China.
| | - Dan Li
- Bio-X-Renji Hospital Research Center, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China; Zhangjiang Institute for Advanced Study, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; WLA Laboratories, World Laureates Association, Shanghai 201203, China.
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6
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Pandey SP, P K, Dutta T, Chakraborty B, Koner AL, Singh PK. Mitochondria-Directing Fluorogenic Probe: An Efficient Amyloid Marker for Imaging Lipid Metabolite-Induced Protein Aggregation in Live Cells and Caenorhabditis elegans. Anal Chem 2023; 95:6341-6350. [PMID: 37014217 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Abstract
The design and development of optical probes for sensing neurotoxic amyloid fibrils are active and important areas of research and are undergoing continuous advancements. In this paper, we have synthesized a red emissive styryl chromone-based fluorophore (SC1) for fluorescence-based detection of amyloid fibrils. SC1 records exceptional modulation in its photophysical properties in the presence of amyloid fibrils, which has been attributed to the extreme sensitivity of its photophysical properties toward the immediate microenvironment of the probe in the fibrillar matrix. SC1 also shows very high selectivity toward the amyloid-aggregated form of the protein as compared to its native form. The probe is also able to monitor the kinetic progression of the fibrillation process, with comparable efficiency as that of the most popular amyloid probe, Thioflavin-T. Moreover, the performance of SC1 is least sensitive to the ionic strength of the medium, which is an advantage over Thioflavin-T. In addition, the molecular level interaction forces between the probe and the fibrillar matrix have been interrogated by molecular docking calculations which suggest the binding of the probe to the exterior channel of the fibrils. The probe has also been demonstrated to sense protein aggregates from the Aβ-40 protein, which is known to be responsible for Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, SC1 exhibited excellent biocompatibility and exclusive accumulation at mitochondria which allowed us to successfully demonstrate the applicability of this probe to detect mitochondrial-aggregated protein induced by an oxidative stress indicator molecule 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) in A549 cell lines as well as in a simple animal model like Caenorhabditis elegans. Overall, the styryl chromone-based probe presents a potentially exciting alternative for the sensing of neurotoxic protein aggregation species both in vitro as well as in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shrishti P Pandey
- Department of Biotechnology, Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan Institute of Science and Amrutben Jivanlal College of Commerce and Economics, Vile Parle (W) 400056, India
| | - Kavyashree P
- Bionanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Tanoy Dutta
- Bionanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Barsha Chakraborty
- Bionanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Apurba Lal Koner
- Bionanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Prabhat K Singh
- Radiation and Photochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400085, India
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7
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Li L, Luo WC, Jiang M, Yu X, Xu L. Turn-on fluorescence probing of amyloid fibrils by the proto-berberine alkaloids and the study of their interactions. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 231:123319. [PMID: 36682666 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.123319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The aggregation of amyloid proteins is highly related to the occurrence and development of neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases. The detection of amyloid fibrils or monitoring fibrillation process would be necessary to understand the fundamental knowledge about the diseases and further facilitate the research for the drug discovery and disease treatment. In this study, three proto-berberine alkaloids, i.e. berberine, palmatine and coptisine, were examined as three distinctive fluorescent probes to detect amyloid fibrils. These three alkaloids were found to be sensitive to the microenvironment, i.e. viscosity and polarity, with varied fluorescence intensity. They could sensitively probe insulin and lysozyme fibrils with turn-on fluorescence, but did not respond to protein monomers, merited with advantages of larger Stokes shift, greenish-yellow fluorescence and no interference with the fibrillation process. Hydrophobic, electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions were explored to exist between alkaloids and the fibrils. Moreover, these alkaloids succeeded in monitoring the aggregation process of amyloid proteins in vitro and imaging the fibrils in living cells. The present study demonstrates that the three alkaloids could be the potential candidate fluorescent probes for amyloid fibrils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Li
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Wan-Chun Luo
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Ming Jiang
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Xu Yu
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
| | - Li Xu
- Tongji School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
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8
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Wang L, Hsiung CH, Liu X, Wang S, Loredo A, Zhang X, Xiao H. Xanthone-based solvatochromic fluorophores for quantifying micropolarity of protein aggregates. Chem Sci 2022; 13:12540-12549. [PMID: 36382293 PMCID: PMC9629104 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc05004h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Proper three-dimensional structures are essential for maintaining the functionality of proteins and for avoiding pathological consequences of improper folding. Misfolding and aggregation of proteins have been both associated with neurodegenerative disease. Therefore, a variety of fluorogenic tools that respond to both polarity and viscosity have been developed to detect protein aggregation. However, the rational design of highly sensitive fluorophores that respond solely to polarity has remained elusive. In this work, we demonstrate that electron-withdrawing heteroatoms with (d-p)-π* conjugation can stabilize lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels and promote bathochromic shifts. Guided by computational analyses, we have devised a novel series of xanthone-based solvatochromic fluorophores that have rarely been systematically studied. The resulting probes exhibit superior sensitivity to polarity but are insensitive to viscosity. As proof of concept, we have synthesized protein targeting probes for live-cell confocal imaging intended to quantify the polarity of misfolded and aggregated proteins. Interestingly, our results reveal several layers of protein aggregates in a way that we had not anticipated. First, microenvironments with reduced polarity were validated in the misfolding and aggregation of folded globular proteins. Second, granular aggregates of AgHalo displayed a less polar environment than aggregates formed by folded globular protein represented by Htt-polyQ. Third, our studies reveal that granular protein aggregates formed in response to different types of stressors exhibit significant polarity differences. These results show that the solvatochromic fluorophores solely responsive to polarity represent a new class of indicators that can be widely used for detecting protein aggregation in live cells, thus paving the way for elucidating cellular mechanisms of protein aggregation as well as therapeutic approaches to managing intracellular aggregates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lushun Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University6100 Main StreetHoustonTexas77005USA
| | - Chia-Heng Hsiung
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University ParkPA 16802USA,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University ParkPA 16802USA
| | - Xiaojing Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University ParkPA 16802USA
| | - Shichao Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University6100 Main StreetHoustonTexas77005USA
| | - Axel Loredo
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University6100 Main StreetHoustonTexas77005USA
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University ParkPA 16802USA,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University ParkPA 16802USA
| | - Han Xiao
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University6100 Main StreetHoustonTexas77005USA,Department of Biosciences, Rice University6100 Main StreetHoustonTexas77005USA,Department of Bioengineering, Rice University6100 Main StreetHoustonTexas77005USA
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9
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Shen D, Jin W, Zhao Q, Wang M, Zhang B, Feng H, Wan W, Bai Y, Lyu H, Sun J, Zhang L, Liu Y. Covalent Solvatochromic Proteome Stress Sensor Based on the Schiff Base Reaction. Anal Chem 2022; 94:14143-14150. [PMID: 36194526 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c01281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Covalent-type probes or sensors have been seldom reported for aggregated proteins. Herein, we reported a series of covalent solvatochromic probes to selectively modify and detect aggregated proteomes through the Schiff base reaction. Such covalent modification was discovered by serendipity using the P1 probe with an aldehyde functional group, exhibiting enhanced fluorescence intensity and unusually large blue shift upon protein aggregation. Supported by the biochemical and mass spectrometry results, we identified that this probe can modify the lysine residue of aggregated proteins selectively over folded ones via the Schiff base reaction. The generality of designing such a covalent-type probe was demonstrated in multiple probe scaffolds using different model proteins. Finally, we exploited the distinct solvatochromism of P1 after Schiff base linkage with aggregated proteins to visualize the distinct morphology of aggregated proteomes, as well as to quantify the polarity heterogeneity inside it. This work may intrigue the exploration of other chemical reaction types to covalently functionalize aggregated proteins that were difficult to analyze.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Shen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
| | - Wenhan Jin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
| | - Qun Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
| | - Mengdie Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Beirong Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Huan Feng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wang Wan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
| | - Yulong Bai
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Haochen Lyu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
| | - Jialu Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
| | - Lihua Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
| | - Yu Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China
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Sun R, Wan W, Jin W, Bai Y, Xia Q, Wang M, Huang Y, Zeng L, Sun J, Peng C, Jing B, Liu Y. Derivatizing Nile Red Fluorophores to Quantify the Heterogeneous Polarity upon Protein Aggregation in the Cell. Chem Commun (Camb) 2022; 58:5407-5410. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cc00629d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Protein aggregation in the cell is often manifested by the formation of subcellular punctate structures. Herein, we modulated the solvatochromism and solubity of Nile Red fluorophore derivatives to quantitatively study...
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Zheng X, Sun W, Ju M, Wu J, Huang H, Shen B. Chemical Biology Toolbox to Overcome Hypoxic Tumor Microenvironment of Photodynamic Therapy: A Review. Biomater Sci 2022; 10:4681-4693. [DOI: 10.1039/d2bm00776b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Cancer is currently a disease that seriously threatens human health. Over the past few decades, researchers have continued to find ways to cure cancer. Currently, the most commonly used clinical...
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