An Activatable NIR Probe for the Detection and Elimination of Senescent Cells

Anal Chem. 2022 Apr 5;94(13):5425-5431. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c00239. Epub 2022 Mar 23.

Abstract

Cellular senescence is involved in diverse physiological processes. Accumulation of senescent cells can lead to numerous age-related diseases. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop chemical tools to effectively detect and eliminate senescent cells. Till date, a dual functional probe that could detect and eliminate senescent cells has yet been accomplished. Herein, a β-gal-activated probe, MB-βgal, based on the methylene blue (MB) fluorophore, was designed to detect and eliminate senescent cells. In the absence of β-gal, the probe showed no fluorescence and its 1O2 production efficiency was suppressed simultaneously. On the other hand, MB-βgal could be specifically activated by the high level of β-gal in senescent cells, thus, releasing free MB with near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence and high 1O2 production efficiency under light irradiation. MB-βgal demonstrated a fast response, high sensitivity, and high selectivity in detecting β-gal in an aqueous solution and was further applied to visualization and ablation of senescent cells. As a proof of concept, the dual functions of MB-βgal were successfully demonstrated in senescent HeLa cells and mouse embryonic fibroblast cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cellular Senescence
  • Fibroblasts*
  • Fluorescent Dyes*
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • beta-Galactosidase

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • beta-Galactosidase