Single fluorescent probe responds to H2O2, NO, and H2O2/NO with three different sets of fluorescence signals

Abstract

Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) acts as a signaling molecule in a wide variety of signaling transduction processes and an oxidative stress marker in aging and disease. However, excessive H(2)O(2) production is implicated with various diseases. Nitric oxide (NO) serves as a secondary messenger inducing vascular smooth muscle relaxation. However, mis-regulation of NO production is associated with various disorders. To disentangle the complicated inter-relationship between H(2)O(2) and NO in the signal transduction and oxidative pathways, fluorescent reporters that are able to display distinct signals to H(2)O(2), NO, and H(2)O(2)/NO are highly valuable. Herein, we present the rational design, synthesis, spectral properties, and living cell imaging studies of FP-H(2)O(2)-NO, the first single-fluorescent molecule, that can respond to H(2)O(2), NO, and H(2)O(2)/NO with three different sets of fluorescence signals. FP-H(2)O(2)-NO senses H(2)O(2), NO, and H(2)O(2)/NO with a fluorescence signal pattern of blue-black-black, black-black-red, and black-red-red, respectively. Significantly, we have further demonstrated that FP-H(2)O(2)-NO, a single fluorescent probe, is capable of simultaneously monitoring endogenously produced NO and H(2)O(2) in living macrophage cells in multicolor imaging. We envision that FP-H(2)O(2)-NO will be a unique molecular tool to investigate the interplaying roles of H(2)O(2) and NO in the complex interaction networks of the signal transduction and oxidative pathways. In addition, this work establishes a robust strategy for monitoring the multiple ROS and RNS species (H(2)O(2), NO, and H(2)O(2)/NO) using a single fluorescent probe, and the modularity of the strategy may allow it to be extended for other types of biomolecules.