Super-Resolution Imaging of Autophagy by a Preferred Pair of Self-Labeling Protein Tags and Fluorescent Ligands.

Autophagy is a core recycling process for homeostasis, with its dysfunction associated with tumorigenesis and various diseases. Yet, its subtle intracellular details are covered due to the limited resolution of conventional microscopies. The major challenge for modern super-resolution microscopy deployment is the lack of a practical labeling system, which could provide robust fluorescence with fidelity in the context of the dynamic autophagy microenvironment.

A Golgi-targeted viscosity rotor for monitoring early alcohol-induced liver injury.

We proposed to monitor the early stage of alcohol-induced liver injury through quantitatively detecting Golgi viscosity. Therefore, the first Golgi-targeted fluorescent rotor (GA-Vis) was developed. With the aid of GA-Vis, the changes in Golgi viscosity during alcohol-induced liver injury were quantitatively evaluated by fluorescence lifetime imaging in live cells and zebrafish.

Hybrid labeling system for dSTORM imaging of endoplasmic reticulum for uncovering ultrastructural transformations under stress conditions.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) transforms its morphology to fit versatile cellular functions especially under stress conditions. Since various ER stresses are critical pathophysiological factors, the precise observations of ER can provide insights into disease diagnoses and biological researches. Live-cell super-resolution imaging is highly expected for uncovering microstructures of ER.

Metabolomics-guided analysis reveals a two-step epimerization of deoxynivalenol catalyzed by the bacterial consortium IFSN-C1.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is commonly found in wheat and wheat-derived foods, posing a threat to human health. Biodegradation is an efficient and eco-friendly measure for mycotoxin detoxification. Understanding the mechanism of DON biodegradation is hence of great importance.

Cytotoxic Trichothecene Macrolides Produced by the Endophytic Myrothecium roridum.

Six new macrolides named myrothecines D-G (1-4), 16-hydroxymytoxin B (5), and 14'-dehydrovertisporin (6), including four 10,13-cyclotrichothecane derivatives, in addition to 12 known compounds (7-18), were isolated from three endophytic Myrothecium roridum, IFB-E008, IFB-E009, and IFB-E012. The isolated compounds were characterized by MS, NMR, CD, and single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The isolated macrolides exhibited an antiproliferation effect against chronic myeloid leukemia K562 and colorectal carcinoma SW1116 cell lines.

A targetable fluorescent probe for dSTORM super-resolution imaging of live cell nucleus DNA.

HoeSR, a nucleus specific probe for dSTORM super-resolution imaging of nucleus DNA in live cells, was designed by conjugating a rhodamine fluorophore and a Hoechst tag. HoeSR labels the cell nucleus in a wash-free way and emits intensive fluorescence exclusively in the nucleus. With the aid of HoeSR, nucleus nanostructures at different mitosis stages were observed through super-resolution imaging.

Quantitatively monitoring oxygen variation in endoplasmic reticulum with a fluorophore-phosphor energy transfer cassette.

An efficient excitation energy transfer (EET) cassette, i.e.Ir-Np-OH, has been constructed by connecting an Ir(iii) complex phosphor as an acceptor to a naphthalimide fluorophore as a donor.

A Mechanism-Based Model for the Prediction of the Metabolic Sites of Steroids Mediated by Cytochrome P450 3A4.

Early prediction of xenobiotic metabolism is essential for drug discovery and development. As the most important human drug-metabolizing enzyme, cytochrome P450 3A4 has a large active cavity and metabolizes a broad spectrum of substrates. The poor substrate specificity of CYP3A4 makes it a huge challenge to predict the metabolic site(s) on its substrates.

Specific Recognition of Breast Cancer Cells In Vitro Using Near Infrared-Emitting Long-Persistence Luminescent ZnGaGeO:Cr Nanoprobes.

In this paper, near-infrared emitting long-persistence luminescent ZnGaGeO:Cr (ZGG) nanoparticles with diameters of 30-100 nm and bright luminescence were prepared by a sol-gel synthesis method. After the surface amination, the nanoparticles were further bioconjugated with breast cancer-specific monoclonal antibody (anti-EpCAM) to form ZGG-EpCAM nanoprobes which can specifically target breast cancer cell lines (MCF7) in vitro. The results of in vitro images show that the luminescence signals from the cells treated with ZGG-EpCAM nanoprobes are stronger than those from cells treated with ZGG-unconjugated antibody, indicating that the prepared ZGG-EpCAM nanoprobes possessed excellent specific recognition capability.

Multifunctional near infrared-emitting long-persistence luminescent nanoprobes for drug delivery and targeted tumor imaging.

In this paper, near infrared-emitting long-persistence luminescent porous Zn1.1Ga1.8Ge0.