Fluorescent nanodiamond as a probe for the intercellular transport of proteins in vivo

This study investigates the intercellular transport of yolk lipoproteins in Caenorhabditis elegans by using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) as photostable labels and tracers. The yolk lipoproteins in the nematode are similar to human serum low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), serving as an intercellular transporter of fat molecules and cholesterol. To study this fundamentally important process, FNDs were first coated with yolk lipoprotein complexes (YLCs) and then microinjected into the intestinal cells of the living organism. Real-time imaging over a time period of more than 50 min with FLIM revealed the process of YLC-FND secretion from the intestine to the pseudocoelomic space, followed by transporting into oocytes and subsequent accumulation in the multi-cellular embryos derived from the oocytes. Colocalization studies of the rme-2 adult hermaphrodites expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged YLCs confirmed that the injected YLC-FNDs were taken up by oocytes through endocytosis mediated by the LDL receptor, RME-2, functioning as an YLC receptor. Our results demonstrate that FND is useful as a biomolecular nanocarrier without significantly altering the functionality of the cargos for intercellular transport, cell-specific targeting, and long-term imaging applications in vivo.