title: Detection of Intracellular Selenol-Containing Molecules Using a Fluorescent Probe with Near-Zero Background Signal.
abstract: Selenocysteine (Sec), encoded as the 21st amino acid, is the predominant chemical form of selenium that is closely related to various human diseases. Thus, it is of high importance to identify novel probes for sensitive and selective recognition of Sec and Sec-containing proteins. Although a few probes have been reported to detect artificially introduced selenols in cells or tissues, none of them has been shown to be sensitive enough to detect endogenous selenols. We report the characterization and application of a new fluorogenic molecular probe for the detection of intracellular selenols. This probe exhibits near-zero background fluorescence but produces remarkable fluorescence enhancement upon reacting with selenols in a fast chemical reaction. It is highly specific and sensitive for intracellular selenium-containing molecules such as Sec and selenoproteins. When combined with flow cytometry, this probe is able to detect endogenous selenols in various human cancer cells. It is also able to image endogenous selenol-containing molecules in zebrafish under a fluorescence microscope. These results demonstrate that this molecular probe can function as a useful molecular tool for intracellular selenol sensing, which is valuable in the clinical diagnosis for human diseases associated with Sec-deficiency or overdose.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University , Wuhan 430079, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University , Wuhan 430079, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shu-Hou
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University , Wuhan 430079, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan 430030, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qing-Jian
authors.initials: QJ
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University , Wuhan 430079, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wen-Chao
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University , Wuhan 430079, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guang-Fu
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D018036:Selenium Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D018036:Selenium Compounds; C442270:selenol