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Spatiotemporal Imaging of Zinc Ions in Zebrafish Live Brain Tissue Enabled by Fluorescent Bionanoprobes

The zebrafish is a powerful model organism to study the mechanisms governing transition metal ions within whole brain tissue. Zinc is one of the most abundant metal ions in the brain, playing a critical pathophysiological role in neurodegenerative diseases. The homeostasis of free, ionic zinc (Zn(2+...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Jarosova, Romana, Woolfolk, Sarah K., Martinez-Rivera, Noraida, Jaeschke, Mathew W., Rosa-Molinar, Eduardo, Tamerler, Candan, Johnson, Michael A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10005619/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36903504
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules28052260
Descripción
Sumario:The zebrafish is a powerful model organism to study the mechanisms governing transition metal ions within whole brain tissue. Zinc is one of the most abundant metal ions in the brain, playing a critical pathophysiological role in neurodegenerative diseases. The homeostasis of free, ionic zinc (Zn(2+)) is a key intersection point in many of these diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. A Zn(2+) imbalance can eventuate several disturbances that may lead to the development of neurodegenerative changes. Therefore, compact, reliable approaches that allow the optical detection of Zn(2+) across the whole brain would contribute to our current understanding of the mechanisms that underlie neurological disease pathology. We developed an engineered fluorescence protein-based nanoprobe that can spatially and temporally resolve Zn(2+) in living zebrafish brain tissue. The self-assembled engineered fluorescence protein on gold nanoparticles was shown to be confined to defined locations within the brain tissue, enabling site specific studies, compared to fluorescent protein-based molecular tools, which diffuse throughout the brain tissue. Two-photon excitation microscopy confirmed the physical and photometrical stability of these nanoprobes in living zebrafish (Danio rerio) brain tissue, while the addition of Zn(2+) quenched the nanoprobe fluorescence. Combining orthogonal sensing methods with our engineered nanoprobes will enable the study of imbalances in homeostatic Zn(2+) regulation. The proposed bionanoprobe system offers a versatile platform to couple metal ion specific linkers and contribute to the understanding of neurological diseases.