Mitochondria-Targeted Gene Silencing Facilitated by Mito-CPDs.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) plays an essential role in maintaining normal cellular activities. Its heteroplasmic mutations are known to cause various genetic diseases. Current genetic engineering strategies, such as those based on RNA interference (RNAi) and antisense technology, are difficult to genetically alter mtDNA, however, due to the inability of highly negatively charged oligonucleotides to translocate across the double-membrane mitochondria.

Fluorogenic and Mitochondria-Localizable Probe Enables Selective Labeling and Imaging of Nitroreductase.

Nitroreductase (NTR), one of the flavin-dependent enzymes and an upregulated enzyme under tumor hypoxia, has been studied for decades. Many fluorescent probes were developed to detect NTR activity; however, these probes tend to diffuse away from their reaction site (NTR) inevitably, leading to inappropriate sample fixation, lower accuracy of NTR localization, and weaker signal-to-noise ratio. Herein, we present the design, synthesis, evaluation, and biological applications of an NTR-activatable fluorogenic and labeling probe .

Photocontrollable Probes for Mitochondrial Protein Profiling.

The mitochondrion is the core site of cell signaling, energy metabolism and biosynthesis. Here, taking advantage of activity-based probes, we synthesized two photocontrollable probes (YGH-1 and YGH-2), composed of a mitochondrial localization moiety "triphenylphosphonium", a photo-triggered group to achieve spatially and temporally controlled protein capture, and an alkyne group to enrich the labeled protein. Proteomic validation was further carried out to facilitate identification of the mitochondrial proteome in HeLa cells.

Cell-penetrating poly(disulfide)-based nanoquenchers (CPDs) for self-monitoring of intracellular gene delivery.

Monitoring gene delivery has significant benefits in gene therapy. Herein, we report a nanoquencher system by doping a FRET pair during nucleic acid-assisted cell penetrating poly(disulfide) (CPD) formation. Our results show that this strategy not only produces an efficient gene delivery polymer with minimal endolysosomal trapping, but also enables monitoring the release of the gene from the vehicle in live cells.

Cell-Permeant Bioadaptors for Cytosolic Delivery of Native Antibodies: A "Mix-and-Go" Approach.

Antibodies are powerful tools that may potentially find wide applications in live-cell bioimaging, disease diagnostics, and therapeutics. Their practical applications have however remained limited thus far, owing to their inability to cross the cell membrane. Existing approaches for cytosolic delivery of functional antibodies are available, but they are constantly plagued by the need for chemical/genetic modifications, low delivery efficiency, and severe endolysosomal trapping.

Recent advances in reaction-based fluorescent probes for detecting monoamine oxidases in living systems.

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) is a membrane-bound mitochondrial enzyme that plays an important role by catalyzing oxidative deamination to maintain the homeostasis of neurotransmitters and other biogenic amines in living systems. MAO activity is critical for the brain and central nervous system. Its dysfunction is closely related with many neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Expanding the "minimalist" small molecule tagging approach to different bioactive compounds.

"Minimalist" small molecule tagging (MSMT) is a promising approach that easily converts bioactive compounds into affinity-based probes (AfBPs) for proteomic studies. In this work, seven bioactive compounds targeting diversified protein classes were installed with "minimalist" linkers through common reactions to generate the corresponding AfBPs. These probes were evaluated for cell-based protein profiling and target validation.

Differently Tagged Probes for Protein Profiling of Mitochondria.

The mitochondrion is one of the most important organelles in the eukaryotic cell. Characterization of the mitochondrial proteome is a prerequisite for understanding its cellular functions at the molecular level. Here we report a proteomics method based on mitochondrion-targeting groups and click chemistry.

[Testing Research of Transient Temperature Distribution for the Barrel Surface by Speckle Pattern Interferometry].

There are some problems in the traditional transient temperature test equipment. The thermal inertia is great, and can only be a single point of detection. To be able to achieve real-time monitoring for transient temperature distribution change of the gun body surface, the test system for transient temperature distribution was designed based on Speckle Pattern Interferometry (SPI) and spectroscopy.