2. Academic Validation
  3. Sensitive imaging of Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) autophagy with an acidity-reporting ER-Tracker

Sensitive imaging of Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) autophagy with an acidity-reporting ER-Tracker

  • Autophagy. 2023 Jan 12;1-11. doi: 10.1080/15548627.2023.2165759.
Yilong Shi 1,  Xiaoxue Zou 1,  Xianghui Zheng 2,  Yimin Wu 1,  Jiahuai Han 3,  Shoufa Han 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, the Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, the MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, and Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
  • 2 Bioluminor Biotech Ltd, Xiamen, China.
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signalling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
PMID: 36625032 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2023.2165759
Abstract

Macroautophagic/autophagic turnover of endoplasmic reticulum (reticulophagy) is critical for cell health. Herein we reported a sensitive fluorescence-on imaging of reticulophagy using a small molecule probe (ER-proRed) comprised of green-emissive fluorinated rhodol for ER targeting and nonfluorescent rhodamine-lactam prone to lysosome-triggered red fluorescence. Partitioned in ER to exhibit green fluorescence, ER-proRed gives intense red fluorescence upon co-delivery with ER into acidic lysosomes. Serving as the signal of reticulophagy, the turning on of red fluorescence enables discernment of reticulophagy induced by starvation, varied levels of reticulophagic receptors, and chemical agents such as etoposide and sodium butyrate. These results show ER probes optically activatable in lysosomes, such as ER-proRed, offer a sensitive and simplified tool for studying reticulophagy in biology and diseases.Abbreviations: Baf-A1, bafilomycin A1; CCCP, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone; CQ, chloroquine diphosphate; ER, endoplasmic reticulum; FHR, fluorinated hydrophobic rhodol; GFP, green fluorescent protein; Reticulophagy, selective Autophagy of ER; RFP, red fluorescent protein; ROX, X-rhodamine; UPR, unfolded protein response.

Keywords

Autophagy imaging; endoplasmic reticulum; fluorescence-on; lysosomal acidity; reticulophagy.

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