An elegant nitroreductase responsive fluorescent probe for selective detection of pathogenic Listeria in vitro and in vivo

Lei Zhang; Leilei Guo; Xue Shan; Xiaohong Lin; Tingting Gu; Jikang Zhang; Junliang Ge; Wendi Li; Haixiong Ge; Qing Jiang; Xinghai Ning

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2019.02.026

An elegant nitroreductase responsive fluorescent probe for selective detection of pathogenic Listeria in vitro and in vivo

Talanta. 2019 Jun 1:198:472-479. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2019.02.026. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Authors

Lei Zhang¹, Leilei Guo², Xue Shan¹, Xiaohong Lin¹, Tingting Gu¹, Jikang Zhang¹, Junliang Ge¹, Wendi Li³, Haixiong Ge¹, Qing Jiang⁴, Xinghai Ning⁵

Affiliations

¹ National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures & Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, 210093 Nanjing, China.
² Center of Advanced Pharmaceuticals and Biomaterials, Collaborative Innovation Center of China Pharmaceutical University and National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, 210093 Nanjing, China.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
⁴ The Center of Diagnosis and Treatment for Joint Disease, Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China; Laboratory for Bone and Joint Diseases, Model Animal Research Center, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: qingj@nju.edu.cn.
⁵ National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures & Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, 210093 Nanjing, China. Electronic address: xning@nju.edu.cn.

PMID: 30876589
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2019.02.026

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) is a facultative pathogenic bacterium, and a sensitive method for specific detection of Listeria is considered of clinically significant. However, current approaches for identifying Listeria are time consuming or tentative, and especially, cannot identify bacterial viability and antibiotic efficacy, which are critical in establishing a treatment recipe. Herein, we have developed a nitroreductase (NTR) responsive fluorescent probe (NRFP) with a fluorescence off-on feature, which could rapidly detect Listeria in vitro and in vivo with high specificity and sensitivity. NRFP showed a selective response to NTRs over other biological reductants, and could detect NTRs as low as 12.5 ng/mL. Furthermore, NRFP responded rapidly to NTRs within 10 min, enabling it real-time monitoring NTR production. Most importantly, NRFP could not only distinguish Listeria from other bacteria in vitro and in vivo for the first time, but could provide valuable information about Listeria desired for healthcare professionals, such as the presence and viability. Particularly, NRFP could real-time monitor antimicrobial effects in vivo, thereby identifying effective antibiotics for Listeria infections. Overall, NRFP appears to be an ideal imaging probe for Listeria, and possesses great potentials in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Keywords: Antibiotic efficacy; Bacterial viability; Fluorescent probe; Listeria; Nitroreductase.

MeSH terms

Fluorescence
Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
Fluorescent Dyes / metabolism
Listeria / isolation & purification*
Nitroreductases / metabolism*

Substances

Fluorescent Dyes
Nitroreductases