Pendin D.
*
Norante R,
De Nadai A,
Gherardi G,
Vajente N,
Basso E,
Kaludercic N,
Mammucari C,
Paradisi C,
Pozzan T,
Mattarei A.
* University of Padua, National Research Council, and Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, Padua, Italy
A Synthetic Fluorescent Mitochondria-Targeted Sensor for Ratiometric Imaging of Calcium in Live Cells.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019;
58: 9917-9922
Key words
calcium Imaging - fluorescent dye - Fura-2 - mitochondria targeting - live cell imaging
Significance
Ca2+ signaling is central to several essential physiological processes. Synthetic dyes offer a convenient means to measure Ca2+ concentration in live cells. The authors describe the synthesis of mt-Fura-2(AM) as the first ratiometric Ca2+ dye that targets mitochondria. This probe overcomes the limitations of other sensors such as poor mitochondrial localization, leakage, cytotoxicity, and low photobleaching resistance.
Comment
Mt-Fura-2 was synthesized in 17 steps from commercially available starting materials. Derivatives of mt-Fura-2 containing one, two, or three phosphonium cations were synthesized and it was found that two phosphonium cations were optimal for mitochondria targeting. The authors demonstrated the superiority of mt-Fura-2AM over rhod-2-AM, a non-ratiometric calcium dye, and found that it was suitable for use in cells in which genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators are difficult to transfect.
