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Published on: October 20, 2013
A Mitochondria-Targeted Nitric Oxide Probe for Multimodality Imaging of Macrophage Immune Responses
Yuxin Wen1, Xianbo Wu1, Weijun Wu1
1MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Functional Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Digestive Cancer Research, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Nitric oxide (NO) is a crucial signal molecule closely linked to the biological immune response, especially in macrophage polarization. When activated, macrophages enter a pro-inflammatory state and produce NO, a marker for the M1 phenotype. In contrast, the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype does not produce NO. We developed a mitochondria-targeted two-photon iridium-based complex (Ir-ImNO) probe that can detect endogenous NO and monitor macrophages' different immune response states using various imaging techniques, such as one- and two-photon phosphorescence imaging and phosphorescence lifetime imaging. Ir-ImNO was used to monitor the immune activation of macrophages in mice. This technology aims to provide a clear and comprehensive visualization of macrophage immune responses.
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