Work

Simultaneous direct and indirect assessments of singlet oxygen generation during vascular‐targeted photodynamic therapy with thrombin molecular beacon

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Vascular‐targeted photodynamic therapy (V‐PDT) offers a precise therapeutic approach for treating diseases associated with abnormal vasculature. The therapeutic efficacy of type II V‐PDT mainly relies on the vascular response to singlet oxygen (1O2), which could convert prothrombin into thrombin and then result in vasocontraction and subsequent tissue ischemia. In this study, the photosensitizer pyropheophorbide‐a (Pyro) was conjugated with the fluorescent molecule 5‐carboxy‐X‐rhodamine (Rox) through a thrombin‐cleavable peptide, forming a thrombin‐activated molecular beacon Pyro‐thrombin‐cleavable peptide‐Rox (PPR). Furthermore, a novel multimodal imaging system was developed for simultaneously imaging near‐infrared (NIR) 1O2 luminescence at around 1270 nm and Rox fluorescence, which could be used to directly and indirectly assess the 1O2 generation during V‐PDT for an in vivo model, respectively. It was found that the vasoconstrictions are positively correlated with both 1O2 luminescence intensity and Rox fluorescence intensity, respectively. For this, the PPR could serve as a therapeutic PS and as an indirect indicator for 1O2 generation during V‐PDT, which has the advantage of higher sensitivity compared to the direct measurement of 1O2 luminescence.

Source: Photochemistry and Photobiology

DOI: 10.1111/php.14118

Authors: Huiyun Lin, Yi Shen, Sizhe Ye, Zufang Huang, Buhong Li

Institutions: Fujian Normal University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen Institute of Rare-earth Materials, Hainan University

Language: English

Topic: Photodynamic Therapy Research Studies

Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China