Li Yang, Li Jing, Yu Ting, Cai Hongyi, Zhang Youyu, Li Haitao, Zhou Huijun, Yin Peng
Department of Gastroenterology and Urology, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University/Hunan Cancer Hospital, Changsha 410013, PR China; Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Research (Ministry of Education), Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, PR China.
Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Research (Ministry of Education), Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, PR China.
J Hazard Mater. 2025 May 5;488:137427. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137427. Epub 2025 Jan 27.
The Mercury (II) ion (Hg²⁺) is a toxic heavy metal that threatens biological systems by inducing oxidative stress and disrupting the redox balance. Biothiols such as cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy), and glutathione (GSH) are critical in maintaining redox homeostasis and are implicated in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Understanding the complex interactions between Hg²⁺ and biothiols requires molecular tools capable of simultaneous detection. Herein, we report a novel multi-signal fluorescent probe, DPC, designed with four specific recognition sites and rhodamine and coumarin fluorophores. The DPC probe enables the selective and sensitive differentiation of Mercury (II) ion (Hg²⁺), cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy), and glutathione (GSH), with distinct fluorescence signals. DPC can detect mercury (II) ions (Hg²⁺) in water samples with a high recovery rate ranging from 90.44 % to 112.27 %. DPC was also successfully applied for real-time imaging of these species in living cells and zebrafish, revealing that Hg²⁺ induces oxidative stress, reducing cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy), and glutathione (GSH) levels. Furthermore, detoxifying agents such as sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃), 2,3-dimercaptopropan-1-ol (DMPC), and L-selenocysteine (Sec) restored biothiol levels, counteracting Mercury (II) ion (Hg²⁺) toxicity. These results highlight the exceptional performance of DPC for the simultaneous imaging of Mercury (II) ions (Hg²⁺) and biothiols, providing insights into their interactions and proposing a chemobiological framework for studying heavy metal toxicity and developing detoxification strategies.
汞（II）离子（Hg²⁺）是一种有毒重金属，通过诱导氧化应激和破坏氧化还原平衡来威胁生物系统。生物硫醇如半胱氨酸（Cys）、同型半胱氨酸（Hcy）和谷胱甘肽（GSH）在维持氧化还原稳态中至关重要，并参与众多生理和病理过程。了解Hg²⁺与生物硫醇之间的复杂相互作用需要能够同时检测的分子工具。在此，我们报告了一种新型多信号荧光探针DPC，它设计有四个特定识别位点以及罗丹明和香豆素荧光团。DPC探针能够通过独特的荧光信号对汞（II）离子（Hg²⁺）、半胱氨酸（Cys）、同型半胱氨酸（Hcy）和谷胱甘肽（GSH）进行选择性和灵敏的区分。DPC能够以90.44%至112.27%的高回收率检测水样中的汞（II）离子（Hg²⁺）。DPC还成功应用于活细胞和斑马鱼中这些物质的实时成像，揭示Hg²⁺会诱导氧化应激，降低半胱氨酸（Cys）、同型半胱氨酸（Hcy）和谷胱甘肽（GSH）的水平。此外，亚硒酸钠（Na₂SeO₃）、2,3-二巯基丙醇（DMPC）和L-硒代半胱氨酸（Sec）等解毒剂可恢复生物硫醇水平，抵消汞（II）离子（Hg²⁺）的毒性。这些结果突出了DPC在同时成像汞（II）离子（Hg²⁺）和生物硫醇方面的卓越性能，为它们之间的相互作用提供了见解，并提出了一个化学生物学框架，用于研究重金属毒性和制定解毒策略。
