NIR-II cell endocytosis-activated fluorescent probes for in vivo high-contrast bioimaging diagnostics

Fluorescence probes have great potential to empower bioimaging, precision clinical diagnostics and surgery. However, current probes are limited to in vivo high-contrast diagnostics, due to the substantial background interference from tissue scattering and nonspecific activation in blood and normal tissues. Here, we developed a kind of cell endocytosis-activated fluorescence (CEAF) probe, which consists of a hydrophilic polymer unit and an acid pH-sensitive small-molecule fluorescent moiety that operates in the "tissue-transparent" second near-infrared (NIR-II) window. The CEAF probe stably presents in the form of quenched nanoaggregates in water and blood, and can be selectively activated and retained in lysosomes through cell endocytosis, driven by a synergetic mechanism of disaggregation and protonation. In vivo imaging of tumor and inflammation with a passive-targeting and affinity-tagged CEAF probe, respectively, yields highly specific signals with target-to-background ratios over 15 and prolonged observation time up to 35 hours, enabling positive implications for surgical, diagnostic and fundamental biomedical studies.

Extracellular versus Intracellular Degradation of Nanostructured Silica Particles

Silica nanoparticles appear as promising drug carriers for intracellular delivery. However, the mechanisms by which they are degraded within cells remain largely unknown. In this context, we have prepared three types of PEGylated fluorescent silica nanoparticles with various internal structures (core-shell biocomposite, multilayered, and hollow mesoporous) and studied their degradation in a buffer, in a culture medium, and in contact with human dermal fibroblasts. All particles were prone to dissolve in solution, leading to an increase of porosity and/or the precipitation of new colloids and eventually fragmentation, with a faster rate in the medium compared to that in the buffer. All particles were also uptaken by the cells without significant cytotoxic effect. Their intracellular degradation occurred faster than in suspension, but following almost similar dissolution mechanisms. These results strongly suggest that in these conditions, silica nanoparticles must be primarily considered as hydrolytically degraded and not biodegraded, a point of importance for their future applications in drug delivery.

Mechanisms of metal transport across liver cell plasma membranes

The liver's pivotal role in the homeostasis of essential trace metals and detoxification of exogenous metals is attributed to its ability to efficiently extract metals from plasma, metabolize, store, and redistribute them in various forms either into bile or back into the bloodstream. Bidirectional transport across the sinusoidal plasma membrane allows the liver to control plasma concentrations and therefore availability to other tissues. In contrast, transport across the canalicular membrane is largely, but not exclusively, unidirectional and is a major excretory pathway. Although each metal has relatively distinct hepatic transport characteristics, some generalizations can be made. First, movement of metals from plasma to bile follows primarily a transcellular route. The roles of the paracellular pathway and of ductular secretion appear minimal. Second, intracellular binding proteins and in particular metallothionein play only indirect roles in transmembrane flux. The amounts of metallothionein normally secreted into plasma and bile are quite small and cannot account for total metal efflux. Third, metals traverse liver cell plasma membranes largely by facilitated diffusion, and by fluid-phase, adsorptive, and receptor-mediated endocytosis/exocytosis. There is currently no evidence for primary active transport. Because of the high rate of hepatocellular membrane turnover, metal transport via endocytic vesicles probably makes a larger contribution than previously recognized. Finally, there is significant overlap in substrate specificity on the putative membrane carriers for the essential trace metals. For example, zinc and copper share many transport characteristics and apparently compete for at least one common transport pathway. Similarly, canalicular transport of five of the metals discussed in this overview (Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, and Pb) is linked to biliary GSH excretion. These metals may be transported as GSH complexes by the canalicular glutathione transport system(s). Unfortunately, none of the putative membrane carrier proteins have been studied at the subcellular or molecular level. Our knowledge of their biochemical properties is rudimentary and rests almost entirely on indirect evidence obtained in vivo or in intact cell systems. The challenge for the future is to isolate and characterize these putative metal carriers, and to determine how they are functionally regulated.

Lysosomes and essential fatty acid deficiency

The hydrolytic activity usually associated with lysosomes increased in the homogenates and subcellular fractions of rat liver as a result of essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency. The proportion of the total (tissue homogenate) activity found in each subcellular fraction, however, was unchanged by EFA deficiency.Lysosomes isolated from normal and EFA-deficient rat livers differed significantly in their stability to thermal and osmotic variations. This suggested that lysosomal membranes, like other membranes, were altered by EFA deficiency.In spite of increased tissue-bound hydrolytic activity and altered lysosomal membranes, hydrolytic activity of the serum was not markedly changed in EFA deficiency. These minor changes in hydrolytic activity and in lysosomal membrane stability seemed insufficient to explain the general lesions of EFA deficiency.