An Activatable Near-Infrared Fluorescence Probe for in Vivo Imaging of Acute Kidney Injury by Targeting Phosphatidylserine and Caspase-3

J Am Chem Soc. 2021 Nov 3;143(43):18294-18304. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c08898. Epub 2021 Oct 21.

Abstract

Renal-clearable and target-responsive near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent imaging probes have been promising for in vivo diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI). However, designing an imaging probe that is renal-clearable and concurrently responsive toward multiple molecular targets to facilitate early detection of AKI with improved sensitivity and specificity is challenging. Herein, by leveraging the receptor-mediated binding and retention effect along with enzyme-triggered fluorescence activation, we design and synthesize an activatable small-molecule NIR fluorescent probe (1-DPA2) using a "one-pot sequential click reaction" approach. 1-DPA2 can target both the externalized phosphatidylserine (PS) and active caspase-3 (Casp-3), two essential biomarkers of apoptosis, producing enhanced 808 nm NIR fluorescence and a high signal-to-background ratio (SBR) amenable to detecting the onset of cisplatin-induced AKI in mice as early as 24 h post-treatment with cisplatin. We not only monitor the gradual activation of Casp-3 in the kidney of mice upon AKI progression but also can report on the progressive recovery of kidney functions in AKI mice following N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) therapy via real-time fluorescence imaging by 1-DPA2. This study demonstrates the ability of 1-DPA2 for longitudinal monitoring of renal cell apoptosis by concurrently targeting PS externalization and Casp-3 activation, which is efficient for early diagnosis of AKI and useful for prediction of potential drug nephrotoxicity as well as in vivo screening of anti-AKI drugs' efficacy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acetylcysteine / therapeutic use
  • Acute Kidney Injury / chemically induced
  • Acute Kidney Injury / diagnostic imaging*
  • Acute Kidney Injury / drug therapy
  • Acute Kidney Injury / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / physiology
  • Biomarkers / metabolism
  • Caspase 3 / metabolism*
  • Cell Line
  • Cisplatin
  • Coordination Complexes / chemical synthesis
  • Coordination Complexes / chemistry
  • Coordination Complexes / radiation effects
  • Female
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemical synthesis
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • Fluorescent Dyes / radiation effects
  • Indoles / chemical synthesis
  • Indoles / chemistry
  • Indoles / radiation effects
  • Infrared Rays
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Nude
  • Optical Imaging
  • Phosphatidylserines / metabolism*
  • Zinc / chemistry

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Coordination Complexes
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Indoles
  • Phosphatidylserines
  • Casp3 protein, mouse
  • Caspase 3
  • Zinc
  • Cisplatin
  • Acetylcysteine