An α-Cyanostilbene Derivative for the Enhanced Detection and Imaging of Amyloid Fibril Aggregates

Abstract

The aggregation of proteins into amyloid fibrils has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Benzothiazole dyes such as Thioflavin T (ThT) are well characterised and widely used fluorescent probes for monitoring amyloid fibril formation. However, existing dyes lack sensitivity and specificity to oligomeric intermediates formed during fibril formation. In this work we describe the use of an α-cyanostilbene derivative with aggregation-induced emission properties (called ASCP) as a fluorescent probe for the detection of amyloid fibrils. Similar to ThT, ASCP is fluorogenic in the presence of amyloid fibrils and upon binding and excitation at 460 nm produces a red-shifted emission with a large Stokes shift of 145 nm. ASCP has a higher binding affinity to fibrillar α-synuclein than ThT and likely shares the same binding sites to amyloid fibrils. Importantly, ASCP was found to also be fluorogenic in the presence of amorphous aggregates and can detect oligomeric species formed early during aggregation. Moreover, ASCP can be used to visualise fibrils via Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy and, due to its large Stokes shift, simultaneously monitor the fluorescence emission of other labelled proteins following excitation with the same laser used to excite ASCP. Consequently, ASCP possesses enhanced and unique spectral characteristics compared to ThT that make it a promising alternative for the in vitro study of amyloid fibrils and the mechanisms by which they form.

Optical molecular imaging and theranostics in neurological diseases based on aggregation-induced emission luminogens

“…It emitted green fluorescence in the presence of amyloid aggregation while no emission could be observed at the monomer state. Similar results were found in the investigations of TPE-TPP [107] and ASCP [108], which contained no amyloid-like structures as targeting moieties.…”

Insights into the chemistry and therapeutic potential of acrylonitrile derivatives

“…Additionally, it was found to be fluorogenic in the presence of amorphous aggregates and can detect oligomeric species formed early during aggregation. [ 178 ] 119 [ 179 ] and 120 [ 180 ] (Figure 20) are acrylonitrile‐related compounds with potential as fluorescent imaging agents for A β detection.…”

Dual functional amphiphilic sugar-coated AIE-active fluorescent organic nanoparticles for the monitoring and inhibition of insulin amyloid fibrillation based on carbohydrate–protein interactions

“…Meanwhile, problems such as small Stokes shift and poor sensitivity are also the disadvantages of ThT. 17,24…”

“…Meanwhile, problems such as small Stokes shift and poor sensitivity are also the disadvantages of ThT. 17,24 In 2001, Tang's group discovered the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties of some luminogens. 25 So far, several studies associated with AIE have been reported on the detection of amyloid fibrils including insulin, Ab 42 and lysozyme.…”