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Updated: Aug 21, 2026
Fluorescence-quenching of a Liposomal-encapsulated Near-infrared Fluorophore as a Tool for In Vivo Optical Imaging
Published on: January 5, 2015
Development of a Fluorescent Probe for Real-Time In Vivo Imaging of Cysteine Dynamics in a Mouse Model of
Fei Gao1, Kai Wang2, Feng-Ming Liang1
1Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Affiliated Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi People's Hospital, Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi214023, China.
Abstract:
Acute lung injury (ALI) involves inflammatory dysregulation and oxidative stress, processes in which cysteine (Cys), an endogenous sulfur-containing biothiol, participates through thiol redox homeostasis. We designed HD-Cys, an activatable hemicyanine probe, to visualize Cys in real-time in an LPS-induced murine ALI model. The reaction with Cys releases the emissive HD form and produces a pronounced near-infrared turn-on response. HD-Cys showed high selectivity, a detection limit of 160 nM, and a linear concentration-dependent response. Its performance was examined in BEAS-2B cells, serum, and mice with LPS-induced ALI. After probe administration, pulmonary fluorescence was stronger in ALI mice than in normal controls and decreased following N-ethylmaleimide (NEM)-mediated thiol depletion. Together, these findings establish HD-Cys as an experimental tool for tracking Cys-associated thiol redox changes during inflammatory lung injury.
