Highly Specific near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for the Real-Time Detection of β-Glucuronidase in Various Living Cells and Animals

Anal Chem. 2018 Mar 6;90(5):3276-3283. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b04813. Epub 2018 Feb 14.

Abstract

β-Glucuronidase (GLU) is an important biomarker for primary cancers and intestinal metabolism of drugs or endogenous substances; however, an effective optical probe for near-infrared (NIR) monitoring in vivo is still lacking. Herein, we design an enzyme-activated off-on NIR fluorescent probe, HC-glu, based on a hemicyanine keleton, which is conjugated with a d-glucuronic acid residue via a glycosidic bond, for the fluorescent quantification and trapping of endogenous GLU activity in vitro and in vivo. The newly developed NIR probe exhibited prominent features including prominent selectivity, high sensitivity, and ultrahigh imaging resolution. It has been successfully used to detect and image endogenous GLU in various hepatoma carcinoma cells, tumor tissues, and tumor-bearing mouse models, for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Moreover, it could detect the in vivo activity of GLU in the intestinal tracts of animals including mice and zebrafish, where GLU performs a vital biological function and is mainly distributed. It could also evaluate real intestinal distribution and real-time variations of GLU in development and growth, all of which are very helpful to guide rational drug use in the clinic. Our results fully demonstrated that HC-glu may serve as a promising tool for evaluating the biological function and process of GLU in living systems.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemical synthesis
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • Glucuronates / chemical synthesis
  • Glucuronates / chemistry*
  • Glucuronidase / chemistry
  • Glucuronidase / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Indoles / chemical synthesis
  • Indoles / chemistry*
  • Intestinal Mucosa / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Microscopy, Confocal / methods
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Xanthenes / chemical synthesis
  • Xanthenes / chemistry*
  • Zebrafish

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Glucuronates
  • Indoles
  • Xanthenes
  • Glucuronidase