School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China.
Biomater Sci. 2022 Jan 18;10(2):368-375. doi: 10.1039/d1bm01362a.
The identification of paracrine factors secreted by transplanted mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) during the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is essential for understanding the role of MSCs in therapy. Herein, we report a facile and efficient strategy for tracking the secretion of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in MSCs during IPF therapy. In our strategy, a novel nanoflare tracer consisting of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), complementary sequences and dye-labeled recognition sequences is developed. Briefly, the AuNPs are functionalized with oligonucleotide complementary sequences hybridized to the organic dye-labeled recognition sequences, where the organic fluorophores are in close proximity to the AuNPs. In the absence of targets, the dye and AuNPs are separated from each other, inducing the quenching of the fluorescence signal. However, in the presence of targets, the recognition sequences gradually fall off from the AuNPs, causing the fluorescence signal to rise. In brief, monitoring of the dynamic expression of HGF mRNA in transplanted MSCs during IPF therapy in the current work may provide new insight into the paracrine process of the transplanted MSCs, thereby advancing the MSC-based IPF therapy toward clinical applications.
鉴定骨髓间充质干细胞（MSCs）在治疗特发性肺纤维化（IPF）过程中分泌的旁分泌因子，对于理解 MSCs 在治疗中的作用至关重要。在此，我们报告了一种简单有效的策略，用于跟踪间充质干细胞在 IPF 治疗过程中肝细胞生长因子（HGF）的分泌情况。在我们的策略中，开发了一种由金纳米粒子（AuNPs）、互补序列和染料标记的识别序列组成的新型纳米耀斑示踪剂。简要地说，AuNPs 被功能化，与有机染料标记的识别序列杂交的寡核苷酸互补序列，其中有机荧光团与 AuNPs 接近。在没有靶标的情况下，染料和 AuNPs 彼此分离，导致荧光信号猝灭。然而，在存在靶标的情况下，识别序列逐渐从 AuNPs 上脱落，导致荧光信号上升。总之，本研究中对 IPF 治疗期间移植的 MSCs 中 HGF mRNA 的动态表达进行监测，可能为移植的 MSCs 的旁分泌过程提供新的见解，从而推进基于 MSCs 的 IPF 治疗向临床应用发展。
