Triggering mitophagy with far-red fluorescent photosensitizers

• DOI: 10.1038/srep10376
• Publication Date: 2015-05-29T12:21:15Z
• Authors: Cheng-Wei Hsieh; Chih-Hang Chu; Hsien-Ming Lee; Wei Yuan Yang
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; Photosensitizing Agents; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; Mitophagy; Humans; Lysosomes; Reactive Oxygen Species; Article; Fluorescent Dyes; Mitochondria

Abstract Cells identify defective mitochondria and eliminate them through mitophagy: this allows cells to rid themselves of unwanted stress maintain health avoid the activation cell death. One approach experimentally investigate mitophagy is use mitochondrial photosensitizers, which when coupled with light one precisely control damage spatial temporal precision. Here we report three far-red fluorophores that can be used as robust photosensitizers initiate mitophagy. The dyes offer maximal compatibility multi-color live-cell imaging, they do not spectrally overlap commonly fluorescent proteins. Through these found mitophagic engulfment mitophagosome maturation rates are highly correlated cellular Parkin-labeled levels. This may represent a protective mechanism membrane lysosome depletion during