Activity-Based Probe for Ratiometric Fluorescence Imaging of Caspase-3 in Living Cells

Apoptosis plays an essential role in a multicellular organism's lifecycle. Developing technologies for selectively monitoring apoptotic processes can be useful not only in the evaluation of disease progression, but also in the assessment of their therapeutic intervention. However, quantitative imaging of cell apoptosis is still a challenge. In this work, we reported a cell-permeable peptide probe with a ratiometric fluorescence response specifically toward caspase-3, a key enzyme for the execution of apoptosis. This probe Ac-Tat-DEVD-CV consisted of a caspase-3 recognition sequence Asp-Glu-Val-Asp (DEVD), a cell-penetrating peptide Tat (RKKRRORRR), and a long wavelength fluorophore, cresyl violet (CV). Upon selective hydrolyzation by caspase-3, the probe released CV and displayed a ratiometric change in fluorescence. Facilitated by the cell-penetrating peptide, this probe can easily internalize into cells. The ratiometric response property bestowed the probe with advantages in the real-time quantification of caspase-3 activity, thus estimating the apoptotic stages in living cells. This method could offer opportunities to evaluate apoptosis-related disease progression and therapeutic monitoring.