Cyanine Phototruncation Enables Spatiotemporal Cell Labeling
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Journal of the American Chemical Society |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.2c02962 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c02962 |
| Keywords | LYMPH-NODE; IN-VIVO; IDENTIFICATION; TRACKING; EGFP |
| Description | Photoconvertible tracking strategies assess the dynamic migration of cell populations. Here we develop phototruncation-assisted cell tracking (PACT) and apply it to evaluate the migration of immune cells into tumor-draining lymphatics. This method is enabled by a recently discovered cyanine photoconversion reaction that leads to the two-carbon truncation and consequent blue-shift of these commonly used probes. By examining substituent effects on the heptamethine cyanine chromophore, we find that introduction of a single methoxy group increases the yield of the phototruncation reaction in neutral buffer by almost 8-fold. When converted to a membrane-bound cell-tracking variant, this probe can be applied in a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments. These include quantitative, time-dependent measurements of the migration of immune cells from tumors to tumor-draining lymph nodes. Unlike previously reported cellular photoconversion approaches, this method does not require genetic engineering and uses near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Overall, PACT provides a straightforward approach to label cell populations with spatiotemporal control. |
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