De novo design of a novel AIE fluorescent probe tailored to autophagy visualization via pH manipulation

Huang Xueyan,Chen Fei,Ma Yeshuo,Zheng Fan,Fang Yanpeng,Feng Bin,Huang Shuai,Zeng Hongliang,Zeng Wenbin 한국생체재료학회 2023 생체재료학회지 Vol.27 No.00

Macroautophagy is an essential cellular self-protection mechanism, and defective autophagy has been considered to contribute to a variety of diseases. During the process, cytoplasmic components are transported via autophagosomes to acidic lysosomes for metabolism and recycling, which represents application niches for lysosome-targeted fluorescent probes. Additionally, in view of the complexity of the autophagy pathway, it entails more stringent requirements for probes suitable for monitoring autophagy. Meanwhile, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) fluorescent probes have been impressively demonstrated in the biomedical field, which bring fascinating possibilities to the autophagy visualization.We reported a generalizable de novo design of a novel pH-sensitive AIE probe ASMP-AP tailored to lysosome targeting for the interpretation of autophagy. Firstly, the theoretical calculation was carried out followed by the investigation of optical properties. Then, the performance of ASMP-AP in visualizing autophagy was corroborated by starvation or drugs treatments. Furthermore, the capability of ASMP-AP to monitor autophagy was demonstrated in ex vivo liver tissue and zebrafish in vivo.ASMP-AP displays a large stokes shift, great cell permeability and good biocompatibility. More importantly, ASMP-AP enables a good linear response to pH, which derives from the fact that its aggregation state can be manipulated by the acidity. It was successfully applied for imaging autophagy in living cells and was proved capable of monitoring mitophagy. Moreover, this novel molecular tool was validated by ex vivo visualization of activated autophagy in drug-induced liver injury model. Interestingly, it provided a meaningful pharmacological insight that the melanin inhibitor 1-phenyl-2-thiourea (PTU)-induced autophagy was clearly presented in wild-type zebrafish.ASMP-AP offers a simple yet effective tool for studying lysosome and autophagy. This is the first instance to visualize autophagy in zebrafish using a small-molecule probe with AIE characters, accurate lysosome targeting and simultaneous pH sensitivity. Ultimately, this novel fluorescent system has great potential for in vivo translation to fuel autophagy research.

Comparative Study and Electrochemical Properties of LiFePO₄F Synthesized by Different Routes

Huang, Bin,Liu, Suqin,Li, Hongliang,Zhuang, Shuxin,Fang, Dong Korean Chemical Society 2012 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.33 No.7

To improve the performance of $LiFePO_4F$, a novel sol-gel process is developed. For comparison, ceramic process is also implemented. From X-ray diffraction results we know that each sample adopts a triclinic $P{\bar{1}}$ space group, and they are isostructural with amblygonite and tavorite. The scanning electron microscope images show that the homogeneous grains with the dimension of 300-500 nm is obtained by the sol-gel process; meanwhile the sample particles obtained by ceramic process are as big as 1000-3000 nm. By galvanostatic tests and at electrochemical impedance spectroscopy method, the sample obtained by sol-gel process presents better electrochemical properties than the one obtained by ceramic process.

Comparative Study and Electrochemical Properties of LiFePO4F Synthesized by Different Routes

Bin Huang,Suqin Liu,Hongliang Li,Shuxin Zhuang,Dong Fang 대한화학회 2012 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.33 No.7

To improve the performance of LiFePO4F, a novel sol-gel process is developed. For comparison, ceramic process is also implemented. From X-ray diffraction results we know that each sample adopts a triclinic P1 space group, and they are isostructural with amblygonite and tavorite. The scanning electron microscope images show that the homogeneous grains with the dimension of 300-500 nm is obtained by the sol-gel process; meanwhile the sample particles obtained by ceramic process are as big as 1000-3000 nm. By galvanostatic tests and at electrochemical impedance spectroscopy method, the sample obtained by sol-gel process presents better electrochemical properties than the one obtained by ceramic process.

Transcriptome analysis reveals genes connected to temperature adaptation in juvenile antarctic krill Euphausia superba

Liu Yongliang,Li Lingzhi,Yang Jialiang,Huang Hongliang,Song Wei 한국유전학회 2023 Genes & Genomics Vol.45 No.8

Background The Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba (E. superba), is a key organism in the Antarctic marine ecosystem and has been widely studied. However, there is a lack of transcriptome data focusing on temperature responses. Methods In this study, we performed transcriptome sequencing of E. superba samples exposed to three different temperatures: −1.19 °C (low temperature, LT), − 0.37 °C (medium temperature, MT), and 3 °C (high temperature, HT). Results Illumina sequencing generated 772,109,224 clean reads from the three temperature groups. In total, 1,623, 142, and 842 genes were differentially expressed in MT versus LT, HT versus LT, and HT versus MT, respectively. Moreover, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that these differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in the Hippo signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, and Toll−like receptor signaling pathway. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR revealed that ESG037073 expression was significantly upregulated in the MT group compared with the LT group, and ESG037998 expression was significantly higher in the HT group than in the LT group. Conclusions This is the first transcriptome analysis of E. superba exposed to three different temperatures. Our results provide valuable resources for further studies on the molecular mechanisms underlying temperature adaptation in E. superba.

Ratiometric and discriminative visualization of autophagic processes with a novel dual-responded lysosome-specific fluorescent probe

Fan Zheng,Yeshuo Ma,Jipeng Ding,Shuai Huang,Shengwang Zhang,Xueyan Huang,Bin Feng,Hongliang Zeng,Fei Chen,Wenbin Zeng 한국생체재료학회 2023 생체재료학회지 Vol.27 No.00

Background Autophagy is a critical self-eating pathway involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Lysosomal degradation of dysfunctional organelles and invading microorganisms is central to the autophagy mechanism and essential for combating disease-related conditions. Therefore, monitoring fluctuations in the lysosomal microenvironment is vital for tracking the dynamic process of autophagy. Although much effort has been put into designing probes for measuring lysosomal viscosity or pH separately, there is a need to validate the concurrent imaging of the two elements to enhance the understanding of the dynamic progression of autophagy. Methods Probe HFI was synthesized in three steps and was developed to visualize changes in viscosity and pH within lysosomes for real-time autophagy tracking. Then, the spectrometric determination was carried out. Next, the probe was applied to image autophagy in cells under nutrient-deprivation or external stress. Additionally, the performance of HFI to monitor autophagy was employed to evaluate acetaminophen-induced liver injury. Results We constructed a ratiometric dual-responsive probe, HFI, with a large Stokes shift over 200 nm, dualwavelength emission, and small background interference. The ratiometric fluorescent signal (R = I610/I460) of HFI had an excellent correlation with both viscosity and pH. More importantly, high viscosity and low pH had a synergistic promotion effect on the emission intensity of HFI, which enabled it to specially lit lysosomes without disturbing the inherent microenvironment. We then successfully used HFI to monitor intracellular autophagy induced by starvation or drugs in real-time. Interestingly, HFI also enabled us to visualize the occurrence of autophagy in the liver tissue of a DILI model, as well as the reversible effect of hepatoprotective drugs on this event. Conclusions In this study, we developed the first ratiometric dual-responsive fluorescent probe, HFI, for real-time revealing autophagic details. It could image lysosomes with minimal perturbation to their inherent pH, allowing us to track changes in lysosomal viscosity and pH in living cells. Ultimately, HFI has great potential to serve as a useful indicator for autophagic changes in viscosity and pH in complex biological samples and can also be used to assess drug safety.

Morphine-6-Glucuronide Isomers-Synthesis and Biological Evaluation

Jixia Yang,Guanyi Lu,Gongzheng Zhang,Xiaodi Wang,Hongliang Wen,Cipan Huang,Jiazhen Yin,Jin Li 대한화학회 2020 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.41 No.11

Morphine-6?-D-glucuronide (M6?G), an active metabolite of morphine, and its isomer morphine-6α-D-glucuronide (M6αG) were synthesized from 3-O-protected morphinethrough glycosylation and alkaline hydrolysis. All structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis, and especially it is the first time to report the single crystal of compound M6αG. In vitro binding assay showed that M6?G bound to mu opioid receptor (MOR), kappa opioid receptor (KOR), and delta opioid receptor (DOR) with nanomolar affinity (Ki = 28.03, 116.88, and 375.13?nM) and M6αG bound to them with similar affinity (Ki = 1070.13, 20?637.93, and 677.36?nM). The selectivity of M6αG toward KOR is much higher. Hot-plate test showed that the analgesic effect of M6?G is better than that of M6αG, that is maybe because the mechanism of M6αG is different.

SYNTHESIS OF MAGNETIC SBA-15 AND Fe–SBA-15 MESOPOROUS NANOCOMPOSITES WITH COBALT FERRITES

HONGXIAO JIN,LIANG LI,MIN CHEN,JINGCAI XU,BO HONG,BAO HUANG,DINGFENG JIN,HONGLIANG GE,XINQING WANG 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2011 NANO Vol.6 No.3

A new nanocomposite based on SBA-15 mesoporous materials combined with Fe_2O_3 and CoFe_2O_4 nanoparticles was prepared via sol–gel growth. The nanostructures and magnetic properties of the SBA-15 nanocomposite were investigated by X-ray diffraction topography, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer. Results indicate that α-Fe_2O_3 nanoparticles are present in the frame or micropores of SBA-15 (denoted as Fe–SBA-15 below) and that CoFe_2O_4 nanoparticles are confined in the mesoporous channels of Fe–SBA-15. Our results also reveal that the addition of CoFe_2O_4 and α-Fe_2O_3 magnetic nanoparticles critically affects their magnetic properties. The saturation magnetization of the SBA-15 nanocomposite is attributed to ferrimagnetic CoFe_2O_4 nanoparticles and antiferromagnetic α-Fe_2O_3 nanoparticles, whereas the coercivity increases with the content of CoFe_2O_4. Moreover, the presence of the couple exchange interaction between the magnetic nanoparticles is confirmed, which can enhance the magnetic properties of the SBA-15 nanocomposite.