An endoplasmic reticulum-targeting fluorescent probe for discriminatory detection of Cys, Hcy and GSH in living cells

• Published in: Spectrochimica acta. Part A, Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy, 2021-04, Vol.250, p.119347, Article 119347
• Main Authors: Yue, Xiuxiu, Chen, Jiali, Chen, Wenqiang, Wang, Benhua, Zhang, Hui, Song, Xiangzhi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cysteine; Endoplasmic reticulum; Fluorescent probe; Glutathione; Homocysteine
• ISSN: 1386-1425
• DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2020.119347

A novel endoplasmic reticulum-targetable fluorescent probe, ER-CP, was developed for selective detection of endoplasmic reticulum Cys, Hcy, and GSH through multicolor imaging. [Display omitted] •Fluorescent probe ER-CP was designed to target endoplasmic reticulum with a PCC = 0.90.•ER-CP was sensitive and selective towards Cys, Hcy and GSH.•ER-CP was capable of imaging intracellular Cys, Hcy and GSH in ER in living cells. Endoplasmic reticulum, known to us as the ER, is the largest organelle in many kinds of eukaryotic cells and plays vital roles in maintaining the normal function of cells. Biothiols (Cys, Hcy, GSH) in secretory proteins will be modified as they enter the ER and are of great importance in balancing redox state of ER environments. In this article, we have developed the first endoplasmic reticulum-targeting fluorescent probe, ER-CP, for concurrent distinguishment of Cys, Hcy and GSH with favorable sensitivity and selectivity. ER-CP was successfully used in fluorescence imaging of Cys, Hcy and GSH in HeLa cells. In addition, ER-CP exhibited a good ER-targeting property (Pearson’s correlation coefficient = 0.90).