Bioinspired Design of Reversible Fluorescent Probes for Tracking Nitric Oxide Dynamics in Live Cells

Field: Chemistry (Physical Sciences)

Open AccessCCS ChemistryRESEARCH ARTICLE1 Oct 2021Bioinspired Design of Reversible Fluorescent Probes for Tracking Nitric Oxide Dynamics in Live Cells Rui-Ying Guo†, Yu-Tian Zhang†, Supphachok Chanmungkalakul, Hao-Ran Guo, Yongzhou Hu, Jia Li, Xiaogang Liu, Yi Zang and Xin Li Rui-Ying Guo† College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 †R.-Y. Guo and Y.-T. Zhang contributed equally to this work.Google Scholar More articles by this author , Yu-Tian Zhang† State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 †R.-Y. Guo and Y.-T. Zhang contributed equally to this work.Google Scholar More articles by this author , Supphachok Chanmungkalakul Fluorescence Research Group, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore 487372 Google Scholar More articles by this author , Hao-Ran Guo State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 Google Scholar More articles by this author , Yongzhou Hu College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 Google Scholar More articles by this author , Jia Li State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 Open Studio for Druggability Research of Marine Natural Products, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237 Google Scholar More articles by this author , Xiaogang Liu Fluorescence Research Group, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore 487372 Google Scholar More articles by this author , Yi Zang *Corresponding authors: E-mail Address: [email protected] E-mail Address: [email protected] State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203 Google Scholar More articles by this author and Xin Li *Corresponding authors: E-mail Address: [email protected] E-mail Address: [email protected] College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.31635/ccschem.021.202000501 SectionsSupplemental MaterialAboutAbstractPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail Nitric oxide (NO) participates in various pathways and revealing its dynamics is critical for resolving its pathophysiology. While there are methods available for detecting biological NO, few are capable of tracking NO dynamics. Herein, inspired by the cellular machinery of reversible thiol modification by NO, we have successfully designed a family of cysteine analogues tagged with fluorophores for visualizing cellular NO dynamics. Biocompatible probes 1a and 2a were found to be most tolerated by the cellular machinery to swiftly switch between their original fluorescent state and quenched S-nitrosated state in response to cellular NO dynamics. We showcased their applicability in various cell types and utility to track NO fluctuations in activated murine macrophages in response to an anti-inflammatory agent treatment. We expect that probes 1a and 2a will afford promising tools for studying NO pathophysiology by tracking its dynamics in health and disease. Download figure Download PowerPoint Introduction First being recognized as an endothelium-derived relaxing factor,1 nitric oxide (NO) is continually appreciated for its diverse roles in virtually every cell function. Synthesis and metabolism of NO are tightly regulated in living cells.2–4 Dysregulation of NO homeostasis is associated with various diseases, for example, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cancers.5–7 However, the precise roles of NO in these diseases remain unanswerable, especially in the immune system, where both signaling and deleterious effects have been observed.8,9 This is largely due to the difficulty of monitoring NO signaling pathways given the diffusive and unstable nature of NO. Consequently, it is imperative to formulate strategies to enable real-time visualization of NO dynamics in its native environment to resolve its physiological and pathological roles in biological systems. NO is short-lived in vivo, and biological NO is often measured as the concentration of its metabolites.10 Griess assay is one of the most extensively used methods for in vitro NO detection (especially in the field of drug screening), due to its sensitivity and low cost.11 NO may also be measured as the conversion of stable isotope-labeled arginine to -labeled NO metabolites or -labeled citrulline.12,13 However, these methods are not applicable to live cells and are therefore not eligible for recording NO dynamics. While electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy can be used to directly measure NO and this method is applicable for in vivo observation,14,15 the limited availability of EPR instrumentation limits the popularization of this technique. In contrast, the wide availability of various fluorescence microscopes has made fluorescent imaging a promising approach to interrogate NO pathways in native environments. To date, several fluorescent probes have been developed to image NO in live cells, mainly relying on the N-nitrosation reaction between the aniline moieties of the probes and NO to initiate the detection. Notably, the Nagano group16,17 first used an o-phenylenediamine moiety to trap NO after N-nitrosation to form a triazole, allowing the turn-on of fluorescent output. Ever since, the o-phenylenediamine moiety has been appended to various fluorophores, including fluorescein,18 Rhodamine,19–21 BODIPY,22,23 Cyanine,24 1,8-naphthalimide,25 and so forth, to develop probes with distinct emission properties for NO detection. Later on, the Ford and Lippard groups individually26–32 reported aniline copper complexes for directly imaging NO, and the mechanism was shown to involve a N-nitrosation step. The N-nitrosation reaction also inspired the development of probes trapping NO by forming diazo rings,33–35 and probes which solely rely on N-nitrosation for detection.36–38 These N-nitrosation-based probes have been thoroughly reviewed in several papers.39–42 Though most of these probes have realized the imaging of NO in live cells, proving probe-based fluorescent imaging as a powerful method for studying NO biology in its native biological context, all these probes unfortunately and irreversibly detect NO, because of their irreversible bonding with NO (Figure 1a). Therefore, these aforementioned probes are unsuitable for real-time monitoring of NO dynamics. Figure 1 | Design of biomimicking probes for tracking cellular NO dynamics. (a) Previous probes irreversibly bind NO and are unsuitable for NO dynamics tracking. (b) Mechanisms of reversible thiol nitrosation in live cells. (c) Design concept of reversible NO-bonding probes for tracking NO dynamics. (d) Molecular structures of biomimicking probes in this work. Download figure Download PowerPoint Herein, we report a bioinspired probe design strategy that enables the real-time and dynamic imaging of NO fluctuations in live cells. Our strategy takes advantage of the cellular machinery of reversible thiol modification by NO. By developing a small library of cysteine analogues tagged with fluorophores to mimic natural cellular thiols, and then performing cell-based screening, probes 1a and 2a were revealed to be mostly tolerated by the cellular machinery to respond to NO changes sensitively and dynamically in live cells. We believe that these probes will greatly aid the biochemical and biomedical research of NO in numerous biological processes. Experimental Methods Materials and instruments All reagents and solvents used for probe synthesis were from commercial suppliers and used without further purification unless otherwise indicated. Dichloromethane, methanol, ethyl acetate were obtained from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co.,Ltd, China. 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDCI, CAS NO. 7084-11-9), 1,2,3-Benzotriazol-1ol (HOBT, CAS NO. 2592-95-2), N,N-Diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA, CAS NO. 7087-68-5), Cystamine dihydrochloride (CAS NO. 56-17-7), L-Cystine (CAS NO. 56-89-3), L-Homocystine (CAS NO. 626-72-2) were obtained from Energy Chemical, China. NH4Cl, NaHCO3, Na2SO4 were obtained from Aladdin, China. Dry dichloromethane (DCM) was distilled from CaH2. 1H NMR spectra were obtained on a Bruker Fourier transform spectrometer (500 MHz) (Bruker Corporation, USA) at 25 °C. 13C NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker Fourier transform spectrometer (125 MHz). All NMR spectra were calibrated using residual tetramethylsilane (TMS) as internal references, and all chemical shifts were reported in parts per million (ppm) and coupling constants (J) in Hz. High-resolution mass spectra (HRMS) were measured on an Agilent 6224 TOF LC/MS spectrometer (Agilent Technologies Inc, USA) using electrospray ionization time-of-flight (ESI-TOF). Liquid chromatography equipped with a mass detector (LC-MS) was used to analyze the reaction mechanism between 1a– 1c, 2a– 2c, and NO. The analysis was carried out with a Shimadzu LCMS-2020 mass spectrometer (Shimadzu Corporation, Japan) equipped with Shimadzu VP-ODS packed column (2.0 mm × 150 mm, 5 μm), eluted at 0.3 mL/min using gradient mobile phases [(A, H2O with 0.1% formic acid; B, MeOH): 0–3 min 20–95% B, 3–8 min 95% B, 8–8.01 min 95–20% B, 8.01–10 min 20% B]. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis was employed to monitor the reaction process between 1b and NO, or between 1b-SNO and glutathione (GSH). Analysis was performed on an Agilent 1260 infinity system (Agilent Technologies Inc, USA) equipped with Cosmosil 5C18-AR-II column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm), eluting at 1.2 mL/min using gradient mobile phases [(A, H2O with 0.1% CF3COOH; B, MeCN): 0–2 min 80–95% B, 2–6.5 min 95% B, 6.5–6.51 min 95–80% B, 6.51–10 min 80% B]. Diethylamine NONOate (DEA·NONOate) was obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Texas, USA) (Lot nos. F1819 and F1719). Its stock solution was prepared by dissolving DEA·NONOate in a 0.1 M NaOH aqueous solution to make a 10 mM stock solution. Proline NONOate (PROLI·NONOate) was obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Lot no. I1819). Its stock solution was prepared by dissolving PROLI·NONOate in a 0.1 M NaOH aqueous solution to make a 10 mM stock solution. Fluorescence spectroscopy Fluorescence spectroscopic studies were conducted on a Cary Eclipse Fluorescence spectrophotometer (Agilent Technologies Inc, USA). The slit width was 5 nm for both excitation and emission. Probes were first dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to make stock solutions of 5 mM, which were then diluted with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; with 20% acetonitrile, pH 7.4) to the desired concentrations. Cell lines and cell culture HeLa and Raw 264.7 cells were maintained in high glucose Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM; Thermo Fisher, USA) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco, USA). Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC;CRL-1730; ATCC, USA) was maintained in F12K complete growth medium as demanded. All cells were cultured in a humidified atmosphere at 37 °C and 5% CO2. Computational methods Quantum chemical calculations were carried out using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) in Gaussian 16.43 All calculations were performed using M06-2X functional and def2SVP basis set in water.44 Positive values of frequencies were checked to validate geometric optimizations in the ground state. The solvation model based on density (SMD) model was chosen to account for the solvent effect.45 The molecular orbitals were visualized with Avogadro (Avogadro, USA) using result files from Gaussian 16 calculations.46 Live cell fluorescence imaging Cells (HeLa cells, 14,000 cells/well; Raw 264.7 cells, 25,000 cells/well; HUVEC cells, 8000 cells/well) were seeded on black 96-well microplates with optically clear bottoms (Greiner Bio-One, Germany) overnight. After cells were stimulated or pretreated with the compounds described below, probe 1a-SAc (1 μM) or 2a-SAc (1 μM) was added with serum-free medium for 30 min. Fluorescence images were recorded by Opera Phenix (PerkinElmer, USA) at an excitation wavelength of 408 nm. Fluorescence intensity was quantified by Columbus analysis system (PerkinElmer). Exogenous NO detection and GSH competition experiment Cells were incubated with DEA·NONOate (200 or 400 μM; Absin, China) for 15 min. GSH (400 μM; Sigma-Aldrich, USA) was added simultaneously in the competition experiment and probes were later added to detect exogenous NO. Endogenous NO detection To activate inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in macrophage, Raw264.7 cells were incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 μg/mL; Sigma-Aldrich, USA), interferon-γ (IFN-γ; 20 ng/mL; R&D Research, USA), and l-arginine (l-Arg; 0.5 mg/mL; Beyotime, China) for 16 h. At the same time, 1400w (100 μM; MCE) was added to inhibit iNOS. For modulating NO in endothelial cells, HUVEC was pretreated with Carboxy-PTIO (500 μM; Santa Cruz, USA), l-NAME (500 μM; Beyotime), or A23187 (5 μM; Abcam) for 2 h. Probes were then added to monitor endogenous NO level change in these situations. Real-time detecting NO dynamics HeLa cells were incubated with 1a-SAc or 2a-SAc or 4-amino-5-methylamino-2,7-difluorofluorescein diacetate (DAF-FM DA; Meilunbio, China) and imaged with Opera Phenix in time series. Reversible cycles were generated by adding DEA·NONOate (400 μM) or GSH (400 μM) in turns (interval: 30 min). For real-time monitoring NO change in macrophage, Raw264.7 cells were pretreated with LPS, IFN-γ, and l-Arg, and then incubated with the probe. Next, N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC; 100 μg/mL; Beyotime) was added into the medium. Raw264.7 cells were immediately imaged with Opera Phenix in time series (interval: 10 min). Cell viability assay To assess the cytotoxicity of probes, cells were exposed to 1a-SAc, 1b-SAc, 1c-Sac, or 2a-SAc with increasing concentrations for 24 h. Then, the medium was changed to a fresh one for another 24 h and the cell viability was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (Dojindo, Dojindo Laboratorise, Japan) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Statistical analysis An unpaired t-test was performed to analyze the results using GraphPad Prism software (GraphPad, USA). Results are presented as mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined at *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001. Results and Discussion Biomimicking design of fluorescent probes for tracking NO dynamics, and their synthesis Imaging NO dynamics demands that the fluorescence signal of the probes can dynamically change in response to fluctuating NO levels. This necessitates a reversible bonding between the probes and NO so that the probes can switch between their original structures and their NO-bonding form. This proves challenging from a chemistry point of view given the radical nature of NO. However, NO levels in biological systems are finely tuned by a variety of cellular machinery. There are several reports that state NO is stored and transferred as S-nitrosated cysteine residues in cells,47,48 and the modification of cellular thiols by NO is dynamically modulated by S-nitrosation, S-transnitrosation, and S-denitrosation.49–51 Both chemical and enzymatic mechanisms are involved in these processes to maintain cellular NO signaling and NO homeostasis (Figure 1b).52–54 Therefore, we envisioned that a probe that can be prominently recognized by the cellular machinery of reversible S-nitrosation may facilitate NO dynamic imaging (Figure 1c). Based on this hypothesis, a panel of fluorescently labeled cysteine analogues were designed to mimic natural substrates of the cellular S-nitrosation machinery (Figure 1d). Their molecular structures are comprised of two parts (1) a cysteine analog with a free thiol as a potential S-nitrosation active site, and (2) a coumarin fluorophore as a signaling moiety. The cysteine analog part, including cysteamine, cysteine, and homocysteine, was chosen because they are natural biothiols in mammals and compatible with cellular S-nitrosation machinery. The coumarin fluorophores were used since the skeleton is natural product-like and privileged structure in medicinal chemistry demonstrating a variety of bioactivities,55 which may improve their chance of being recognized by the cellular enzymatic S-nitrosation machinery. These probes were readily synthesized by the condensation between coumarin acids and dimethyl cystinate, cystine, or dimethyl homocystinate, followed by the reduction of the disulfide bond with dithiothreitol (DTT) to expose free thiol groups ( Supporting Information Scheme S1). Detailed procedures for probe preparation and structure characterization are described in the Supporting Information. Evaluating probe capacity for tracking NO dynamics To test if the probes could be tolerated by the cellular S-nitrosation machinery to dynamically respond to fluctuating NO, cell-based screening was performed. Probes 1a, 1b, and 1c bearing different thiols but the same fluorophore were first tested. Though the probes were stable in aqueous solution for several hours without being oxidized ( Supporting Information Figure S1), for the sake of long-term storage of their stock solutions without the concern of oxidation, they were first derivalized to their S-acetylated proprobes. In live cells, the acetyl thioester is readily hydrolyzed by the ubiquitous esterase to free the thiol groups. First, the probes were confirmed to exhibit no potential toxicity in three different cell lines ( Supporting Information Figure S2), and then were tested in HeLa cells for dynamically imaging NO. Cells were first loaded with acetylated probe 1a, 1b, or 1c for 30 min, and then cellular NO levels were manipulated by sequential treatment of DEA·NONOate (a NO donor) and GSH (a robust cellular NO degradation agent and a S-nitrosothiol (RSNO) reductant).56 Interestingly, the probes demonstrated dramatically different responsive profiles (Figures 2a–2c). While all probes were active toward DEA·NONOate in HeLa cells with substantial decreases in their emission intensity, subsequent treatment of the cells with GSH restored only the quenched fluorescence of 1a but not 1b and 1c. We observed that probe 1a swiftly changed its emission intensity in response to DEA·NONOate-GSH cycles for at least two rounds. Nonetheless, the responsive profile of 1c toward the DEA·NONOate-GSH cycles was relatively similar to that of DAF-FM DA, a commercial and irreversible NO probe ( Supporting Information Figure S3). This result suggests that the cysteine thiol should be more tolerated by the cellular machinery of S-nitrosation. This hypothesis was further supported by the dynamic response of another cysteine thiol-bearing probe 2a to the DEA·NONOate-GSH cycles ( Supporting Information Figure S4). Figure 2 | Screening probes 1a–1c for those capable of tracking cellular NO dynamics. HeLa cells pretreated with (a) 1a-SAc, (b) 1b-SAc, or (c) 1c-SAc (each at 1 μM) were imaged in time series. Reversible cycles were generated by adding DEA·NONOate (400 μM) or GSH (400 μM) in turns (interval: 30 min). NONOate was applied at 0 and 60 min, and GSH was applied at 30 and 90 min, fluorescence intensity changes were shown in the mechanism Fluorescence spectra of probes 1a–1c (each 10 μM) were in a which of the solutions were by at time by the followed by and sequential treatment with DEA·NONOate black in or GSH in of the The shown are the intensity changes at their emission and the at the time fluorescence spectra of the probes at time and spectra of in the are appended in the Supporting Information. Download figure Download PowerPoint Next, the mechanism was from a chemistry point of Probes 1a– 1c were with DEA·NONOate and GSH in a sequential Fluorescence spectrophotometer and spectrometer were used to monitor the an probe μM) in was with DEA·NONOate and its fluorescence response was recorded in a After 15 min, an of the was by the was with GSH to NO The emission was recorded for another 15 min, and then analysis was was observed that the probes to DEA·NONOate with (Figure and Supporting Information and to the S-nitrosated by a of the disulfide (Figures and Supporting Information This is in with reports that S-nitrosation may fluorophore should be that probe 1a bearing a cysteine thiol demonstrated the most response toward DEA·NONOate as by 1b and 1c were relatively the solutions were with a reduction of the S-nitrosated probes was with being the most Notably, reduction of was by the of its quenched These with the most response of probe 1a toward DEA·NONOate-GSH cycles in cell imaging We also the of probes 2a– toward the sequential treatment of DEA·NONOate and GSH ( Supporting Information and the cysteine thiol-bearing probe 2a was observed as the most These results that the cysteine thiol should be a active for NO, which is with the cell imaging Though both S-nitrosated and disulfide probes were observed with S-nitrosation is recognized as the most mechanism for the This could be from the reaction between 1b and DEA·NONOate at a 1b μM) was with DEA·NONOate conversion to 1b-SNO was observed by by of ( Supporting Information The 1b-SNO could be to 1b by GSH treatment ( Supporting Information and This suggests that S-nitrosation should have the reaction between the thiol probes and After the S-nitrosation mechanism for the probes to NO, we then set out to this reaction in aqueous solution. chemistry mechanisms have been for S-nitrosation as (1) thiols, and (2) NO which are the one electron of the thiol by These two mechanisms are to in but are challenging to be as or have effects on the reaction To these mechanisms are also applicable to probes, the were performed. First, the fluorescent response of 1b toward DEA·NONOate an was where we observed that 1b demonstrated a dramatically sensitivity toward NO ( Supporting Information Figure This is in with the that S-nitrosation of GSH is more in the of in the of and suggests that the of NO by is for S-nitrosation to we used as a 1b was with in acetonitrile, a of fluorescence intensity was The emission intensity could be restored by the subsequent treatment of cysteamine, which as a of GSH due to the of GSH in ( Supporting Information Figure analysis confirmed that 1b with its to 1b-SNO ( Supporting Information Figure in its in aqueous this result suggests the of to probe S-nitrosation. we tested the sensitivity of 1b toward NO and various pH and it was observed that the detection a more ( Supporting Information Figure In more 1b in its which is more readily available for S-nitrosation by These results confirmed the of the fluorescence of 1a and 2a to the sequential treatment of DEA·NONOate and GSH in aqueous solution confirmed the reversible response of probes 1a and 2a to DEA·NONOate-GSH cycles in live cells and their we then tested their sensitivity toward NO in aqueous solution. First, their NO were Probes 1a and 2a were with different of DEA·NONOate (a NO and their fluorescence were recorded in a (Figures and and Supporting Information and the probe fluorescence intensity DEA·NONOate (Figures and according to which the DEA·NONOate concentration could be probes 1a and 2a were set at 2 the of DEA·NONOate to 1a and 2a was and the of NO from the of NO should be these the 1a or 2a was with a GSH fluorescence was observed (Figures and and Supporting Information and which also a (Figures and and the values of GSH to the and were determined to be and Figure | of probes 1a and 2a toward the sequential treatment of DEA·NONOate and (a and and fluorescent intensity of 1a μM) and 2a μM) toward DEA·NONOate treatment. The fluorescent were recorded for 30 min in (1 and the shown are and GSH treatment the fluorescence of 1a and Probes μM) were first with DEA·NONOate μM) for 30 min, and then were with GSH and the fluorescent were recorded for 30 min in the (1 nm for 1a and nm for nm for 1a and nm for and NO of 1a and 2a which a with and GSH of 1a and 2a which also a with Download figure Download PowerPoint In the response of 1a and 2a toward DEA·NONOate (Figures and this was due to the of NO from To the a NO NONOate was used to with and of probe fluorescence was observed ( Supporting Information and the time of probe fluorescence and the NO of the NO were to ( Supporting Information Figure that of NO from the are the for the detection. We also confirmed that the fluorescence