A Mitochondria-Targeting Probe for Extended Imaging of H₂S and Viscosity in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Biology
• Molecular Imaging

Background:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease linked to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and intracellular viscosity.
• H2S acts as an anti-inflammatory molecule, while viscosity impacts cellular signaling.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop a dual-responsive probe (MS-L) to monitor both H2S and viscosity simultaneously.
• Investigate the probe's utility in distinguishing healthy from cancerous cells.
• Assess the probe's effectiveness in imaging RA in a mouse model.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis and characterization of the MS-L probe.
• Utilizing fluorescence spectroscopy to detect H2S and viscosity changes.
• Confocal microscopy for cellular and in vivo imaging.
• Employing NMR, HR-MS, HPLC, and DFT for mechanism confirmation.
• Inducing RA in a mouse model using lambda-carrageenan.

Main Results:

• MS-L exhibits quantifiable emission upon reaction with H2S, with enhanced emission in high-viscosity environments.
• The probe successfully images mitochondrial H2S and viscosity with long-term visualization.
• MS-L differentiates between healthy and cancerous cells based on endogenous H2S and viscosity.
• In a mouse RA model, MS-L reveals significant increases in joint H2S and viscosity.

Conclusions:

• MS-L is a versatile tool for simultaneously monitoring H2S and viscosity.
• The probe demonstrates potential for early detection and diagnosis of RA.
• MS-L provides real-time, long-term imaging of RA progression.