Turn-on chemiluminescence probes and dual-amplification of signal for detection of amyloid beta species in vivo

Nat Commun. 2020 Aug 13;11(1):4052. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17783-4.

Abstract

Turn-on fluorescence imaging is routinely studied; however, turn-on chemiluminescence has been rarely explored for in vivo imaging. Herein, we report the design and validation of chemiluminescence probe ADLumin-1 as a turn-on probe for amyloid beta (Aβ) species. Two-photon imaging indicates that ADLumin-1 can efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier and provides excellent contrast for Aβ plaques and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. In vivo brain imaging shows that the chemiluminescence signal of ADLumin-1 from 5-month-old transgenic 5xFAD mice is 1.80-fold higher than that from the age-matched wild-type mice. Moreover, we demonstrate that it is feasible to further dually-amplify signal via chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (DAS-CRET) using two non-conjugated smart probes (ADLumin-1 and CRANAD-3) in solutions, brain homogenates, and in vivo whole brain imaging. Our results show that DAS-CRET can provide a 2.25-fold margin between 5-month-old 5xFAD mice and wild type mice. We believe that our strategy could be extended to other aggregating-prone proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / chemistry*
  • Animals
  • Luminescence*
  • Luminescent Measurements / methods
  • Mice
  • Molecular Imaging / methods
  • Optical Imaging / methods
  • Protein Aggregates

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Protein Aggregates