A nature-inspired betalainic probe for live-cell imaging of Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes.
A model betalainic dye was semisynthesized from betanin, the magenta pigment of the red beet, and was effective for live-cell imaging of Plasmodium-infected red blood cells. This water-soluble fluorescent probe is photostable, excitable in the visible region and cell membrane-permeable, and its photophysical properties are not notably pH-sensitive. Fluorescence imaging microscopy of erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium falciparum, a causative agent of malaria in humans, showed that only the parasite was stained. Z-stacking analysis suggested that the probe accumulates proximal to the nucleus of the parasite. Indicaxanthin, one of the natural fluorescent betalains found in the petals of certain flowers, did not stain the parasite or the red blood cell.
Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Letícia Christina Pires
LC
Gonçalves
Renata Rosito
RR
Tonelli
Piero
P
Bagnaresi
Renato Arruda
RA
Mortara
Antonio Gilberto
AG
Ferreira
Erick Leite
EL
Bastos
D000818:Animals; D050858:Betalains / Q000737:chemistry*; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002470:Cell Survival; D003374:Coumarins / Q000737:chemistry; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000502:physiology*; D011725:Pyridines / Q000737:chemistry
D003374:Coumarins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D011725:Pyridines; C000252:betalamic acid; D050858:Betalains; C028743:7-amino-4-methylcoumarin