An Activatable NIR‐II Nanoprobe for In Vivo Early Real‐Time Diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most dangerous acute diseases resulting in high morbidity and mortality. Current methods remain limited with respect to early diagnosis and real‐time feedback on the pathological process. Herein, a targeted activatable fluorescent nanoprobe (V&A@Ag₂S) in the second near‐infrared window (NIR‐II) is presented for in vivo optical imaging of TBI. Initially, the fluorescence of V&A@Ag₂S is turned off owing to energy transfer from Ag₂S to the A1094 chromophore. Upon intravenous injection, V&A@Ag₂S quickly accumulates in the inflamed vascular endothelium of TBI based on VCAM1‐mediated endocytosis, after which the nanoprobe achieves rapid recovery of the NIR‐II fluorescence of Ag₂S quantum dots (QDs) owing to the bleaching of A1094 by the prodromal biomarker of TBI, peroxynitrite (ONOO^?). The nanoprobe offers high specificity, rapid response, and high sensitivity toward ONOO^?, providing a convenient approach for in vivo early real‐time assessment of TBI.     

白藜芦醇抗过氧亚硝基及保护DNA作用

利用紫外-可见、荧光光谱法研究了白藜芦醇（resveratrol，Res）与过氧亚硝基阴离子（peroxynitrite anion，ONOO^-）的相互作用，利用电泳方法证实了Res能抑制ONOO^-引起的DNA损伤作用．结果表明Res与ONOO^-之间存在相互作用，并对ONOO^-引起的DNA损伤具有明显的保护作用，当Res浓度为0．05mmol／L时，有近50％的断链DNA恢复为超螺旋态；CO2能显著降低ONOO^-引起的DNA单链断裂，并能加强Res的保护作用，当Res浓度为0．05mmol／L时，对DNA损伤的保护由50％增加到71％．     

Melatonin,Its Metabolites and Their Interference with Reactive Nitrogen Compounds

Melatonin and several of its metabolites are interfering with reactive nitrogen. With the notion of prevailing melatonin formation in tissues that exceeds by far the quantities in blood, metabolites come into focus that are poorly found in the circulation. Apart from their antioxidant actions, both melatonin and N¹-acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AMK) downregulate inducible and inhibit neuronal NO synthases, and additionally scavenge NO. However, the NO adduct of melatonin redonates NO, whereas AMK forms with NO a stable product. Many other melatonin metabolites formed in oxidative processes also contain nitrosylatable sites. Moreover, AMK readily scavenges products of the CO₂-adduct of peroxynitrite such as carbonate radicals and NO₂. Protein AMKylation seems to be involved in protective actions.     

Kinetics of the reactions of catechins with hypochlorite,peroxynitrite, and amino acid–derived peroxyl- radicals

Catechins, one of the class of flavonoids, are known as very efficient antioxidants. Here we investigated the kinetics of the reactions of three catechins, namely, catechin, epigallocatechin, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) with some oxidants, which are formed in vivo under oxidative stress, hypochlorite, peroxynitrite, and amino acid peroxyl radicals. Stopped-flow spectrophotometry and pulse radiolysis technique with absorption detection were used to observe the formation of intermediate products of oxidized catechins. We found that catechins react with hypochlorite with the rate constant of the order of 10⁵–10⁶ M⁻¹ s⁻¹ at pH 7.4. Experimental kinetic traces of the reaction of EGCG with valine peroxyl radicals were fitted using chemical simulation, and the rate constant of this reaction was found to be 5 × 10⁵ M⁻¹ s⁻¹. The rate constants of the formation of unstable catechin quinones in the reaction with peroxynitrite were comparable to that of spontaneous peroxynitrite isomerization, which indicates that catechins are oxidized indirectly by peroxynitrite. Biological consequences of these reactions are discussed.     

Peroxynitrite-Promoted Persulfide Prodrugs with Protective Potential against Paracetamol Poisoning

The newly emerging persulfide prodrugs provide additional options for the profound study of persulfide, a fascinating molecule expected to intervene in biological functions and even diseases. Peroxynitrite is often the culprit in pathological processes characterized by oxidative stress, while the persulfide prodrug responsive to it is still pending. To enrich the family of redox-activated prodrugs, we designed prodrugs with a 2-oxo-2-phenylacetamide trigger, which achieved the release of persulfide via 1, 6-N, S-relay. The degradation of prodrugs and the formation of persulfides were confirmed to be peroxynitrite-responsible by the qualitative and quantitative studies based on LC-MS/MS methods and a spectrophotometry-based tag-switch strategy. Furthermore, these prodrugs showed potent peroxynitrite scavenging activity, cellular therapeutic potential against paracetamol poisoning in HepG2 and oxidative stress in H9c2, as well as desirable in vitro metabolic properties.     

褪黑素和芦丁抑制蛋白质硝基化的比较研究

以牛血清白蛋白为硝化底物、过氧亚硝酸为硝化试剂,研究了褪黑素和芦丁对蛋白质硝基化的抑制作用.通过对硝基化反应各种影响因素的探讨,发现在37℃,pH 7.2,反应时间90 min以及过氧亚硝酸浓度为6.0×10~(-4)mol/L时,硝基化反应进行最完全.实验分别在硝基化反应进行前、进行中以及反应后,在硝基化反应体系中引入不同浓度的抑制剂褪黑素和芦丁.结果显示,在硝基化反应发生前加入抑制剂,抑制硝基化反应的效果最为明显;当褪黑素和芦丁的终浓度为5.0×10~(-5) mol/L时,抑制率分别达到80.7%和52.4%;若继续增加褪黑素,抑制率几乎不再变化,继续增加芦丁,抑制率小幅上升后开始呈下降趋势.总的来说,褪黑素抑制蛋白质硝基化的效果明显好于同浓度的芦丁.     

A Lanthanide‐Complex‐Based Ratiometric Luminescent Probe Specific for Peroxynitrite

A lanthanide‐complex‐based ratiometric luminescence probe specific for peroxynitrite (ONOO^?), 4′‐(2,4‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐2,2′:6′,2′′‐terpyridine‐6,6′′‐diyl]bis(methylenenitrilo)tetrakis(acetate)‐Eu³⁺/Tb³⁺ ([Eu³⁺/Tb³⁺(DTTA)]), has been designed and synthesized. Both [Eu³⁺(DTTA)] and [Tb³⁺(DTTA)] are highly water soluble with large stability constants at ≈10²⁰, and strongly luminescent with luminescence quantum yields of 10.0 and 9.9 %, respectively, and long luminescence lifetimes of 1.38 and 0.26 ms, respectively. It was found that the luminescence of [Tb³⁺(DTTA)] could be quenched by ONOO^? rapidly and specifically in aqueous buffers, while that of [Eu³⁺(DTTA)] did not respond to the addition of ONOO^?. Thus, by simply mixing [Eu³⁺(DTTA)] and [Tb³⁺(DTTA)] in an aqueous buffer, a ratiometric luminescence probe specific for time‐gated luminescence detection of ONOO^? was obtained. The performance of [Tb³⁺(DTTA)] and [Eu³⁺/Tb³⁺(DTTA)] as the probes for luminescence imaging detection of ONOO^? in living cells was investigated. The results demonstrated the efficacy and advantages of the new ratiometric luminescence probe for highly sensitive luminescence bioimaging application.     

A highly selective, cell-permeable fluorescent nanoprobe for ratiometric detection and imaging of peroxynitrite in living cells

Peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) is a highly reactive species implicated in the pathology of numerous diseases and there is currently great interest in developing fluorescent probes that can selectively detect ONOO(-) in living cells. Herein, a polymeric micelle-based and cell-penetrating peptide-coated fluorescent nanoprobe that incorporates ONOO(-) indicator dye and reference dye for the ratiometric detection and imaging of ONOO(-) has been developed. The nanoprobe effectively avoids the influences from enzymatic reaction and high-concentration ·OH and ClO(-). The improved ONOO(-) selectivity of the nanoprobe is achieved by a delicate complementarity of properties between the nanomatrix and the embedded molecular probe (BzSe-Cy). This nanoprobe also has other attractive properties, such as good water solubility, photostability, biocompatibility, and near-infrared excitation and emission. Fluorescence imaging experiments by confocal microscopy show that this nanoprobe is capable of visualizing ONOO(-) produced in living cells and it exhibits very low toxicity and good membrane permeability. We anticipate that this technique will be a potential tool for the precise pathological understanding and diagnosis of ONOO(-)-related human diseases.     

金属离子对过亚硝酸根损伤酪氨酸的影响

NO^· and ^·O₂^- combine each other to form peroxynitrite (ONOO^-) in vivo. Peroxynitrite is very cytotoxic, and it damages many biomolecules. 3-nitrotyrosine and dityrosine are two main products from the reaction of ONOO^- and tyrosine. Lots of metallic ions in vivo influence the modification of tyrosine by peroxynitrite. UV-Vis and Fluorescence spectrophotometer were used to study the catalysis and inhibition of metallic ions on the production of 3-nitrotyrosine and dityrosine in vitro. Present results showed that Co(Ⅱ), Cu(Ⅱ) and Mn(Ⅱ) enhance the production of 3-nitrotyrosine, and among them Co(Ⅱ) and Mn(Ⅱ) have been reported rarely before about it. In addition, Mn(Ⅱ) inhibits the production of dityrosine to a certain extent.     

蛋白质酪氨酸硝化的研究

蛋白质酪氨酸硝基化是一种重要的蛋白质翻译后修饰,与多种病症相关。经由过氧亚硝酸根(ONOO-)和NO2-/H2O2/血红素过氧化物酶体系是促使蛋白质硝化最主要的两种途径,其反应为自由基机理。本文对体内蛋白质硝基化的途径、机制及其生物学意义作了综述,指出蛋白质的硝化具有选择性,特定酪氨酸残基发生硝化能够改变蛋白质的结构和功能,影响其免疫应答和可能涉及的信号转导过程,从而具有重要的生物学意义。