Illumination of Hydroxyl Radical in Kidney Injury and High-Throughput Screening of Natural Protectants Using a Fluorescent/Photoacoustic Probe

The hydroxyl radical (center dot OH) is shown to play a crucial role in the occurrence and progression of acute kidney injury (AKI). Therefore, the development of a robust center dot OH probe holds great promise for the early diagnosis of AKI, high-throughput screening (HTS) of natural protectants, and elucidating the molecular mechanism of intervention in AKI. Herein, the design and synthesis of an activatable fluorescent/photoacoustic (PA) probe (CDIA) for sensitive and selective imaging of center dot OH in AKI is reported. CDIA has near-infrared fluorescence/PA channels and fast activation kinetics, enabling the detection of the onset of center dot OH in an AKI model. The positive detection time of 12 h using this probe is superior to the 48-hour detection time for typical clinical assays, such as blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine detection. Furthermore, a method is established using CDIA for HTS of natural center dot OH inhibitors from herbal medicines. Puerarin is screened out by activating the Sirt1/Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway to protect renal cells in AKI. Overall, this work provides a versatile and dual-mode tool for illuminating the center dot OH-related pathological process in AKI and screening additional compounds to prevent and treat AKI. An activatable fluorescent/photoacoustic probe (CDIA) is developed for sensitive and selective imaging of hydroxyl radical center dot OH during the progression of acute kidney injury. A high-throughput screening method using CDIA is established to identify natural center dot OH inhibitors from herbal medicines, and puerarin is screened out to protect renal cells by activating the Sirt1/Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway.image