Showing papers on "Human serum albumin published in 2022"

A Comprehensive Investigation of Interactions between Antipsychotic Drug Quetiapine and Human Serum Albumin Using Multi-Spectroscopic, Biochemical, and Molecular Modeling Approaches

Abstract: Quetiapine (QTP) is a short-acting atypical antipsychotic drug that treats schizophrenia or manic episodes of bipolar disorder. Human serum albumin (HSA) is an essential transport protein that transports hormones and various other ligands to their intended site of action. The interactions of QTP with HSA and their binding mechanism in the HSA-QTP system was studied using spectroscopic and molecular docking techniques. The UV-Vis absorption study shows hyperchromicity in the spectra of HSA on the addition of QTP, suggesting the complex formation and interactions between QTP and HSA. The results of intrinsic fluorescence indicate that QTP quenched the fluorescence of HSA and confirmed the complex formation between HSA and QTP, and this quenching mechanism was a static one. Thermodynamic analysis of the HSA-QTP system confirms the involvement of hydrophobic forces, and this complex formation is spontaneous. The competitive displacement and molecular docking experiments demonstrated that QTP is preferentially bound to HSA subdomain IB. Furthermore, the CD experiment results showed conformational changes in the HSA-QTP system. Besides this, the addition of QTP does not affect the esterase-like activity of HSA. This study will help further understand the credible mechanism of transport and delivery of QTP via HSA and design new QTP-based derivatives with greater efficacy.

A near-infrared naphthalimide fluorescent probe for targeting the lysosomes of liver cancer cells and specifically selecting HSA

Abstract: Human serum albumin (HSA) plays a pivotal role in various physiological processes of humans, and is generally considered to be one of the early signs of many diseases. Although dysfunction of intracellular lysosome is accompanied in those diseases, the regulation mechanism of HSA in lysosomes still need to be explored. In this work, we report a novel near-infrared naphthalimide probe NI-1 that specifically detects HSA in intracellular lysosomes with the “turn-on” fluorescent sensing modes. In the cell, the N-containing malononitrile group of NI-1 could bind to the lysosome. Moreover, NI-1 can specifically enter the site II hydrophobic cavity of HSA in lysosome. Due to the binding force between NI-1 and HSA, strong steric hindrance and the hydrophobic pocket inside HSA inhibit the twisted internal charge transfer (TICT) effect in the probe itself. Therefore, NI-1 emits strong red fluorescence. More importantly, NI-1 can effectively localize bioimaging of exogenous and endogenous HSA in lysosome. In addition, the novel probe NI-1 achieved a much high selectivity for HSA over bovine serum albumin (BSA), and the interaction mechanism between probe NI-1 and HSA or BSA site II was explained for the first time through molecular docking methods. These results indicate that the probe NI-1 has great potential in exploring further function of HSA for pharmacy and medicine.

A near-infrared naphthalimide fluorescent probe for targeting the lysosomes of liver cancer cells and specifically selecting HSA

Abstract: Human serum albumin (HSA) plays a pivotal role in various physiological processes of humans, and is generally considered to be one of the early signs of many diseases. Although dysfunction of intracellular lysosome is accompanied in those diseases, the regulation mechanism of HSA in lysosomes still need to be explored. In this work, we report a novel near-infrared naphthalimide probe NI-1 that specifically detects HSA in intracellular lysosomes with the “turn-on” fluorescent sensing modes. In the cell, the N-containing malononitrile group of NI-1 could bind to the lysosome. Moreover, NI-1 can specifically enter the site II hydrophobic cavity of HSA in lysosome. Due to the binding force between NI-1 and HSA, strong steric hindrance and the hydrophobic pocket inside HSA inhibit the twisted internal charge transfer (TICT) effect in the probe itself. Therefore, NI-1 emits strong red fluorescence. More importantly, NI-1 can effectively localize bioimaging of exogenous and endogenous HSA in lysosome. In addition, the novel probe NI-1 achieved a much high selectivity for HSA over bovine serum albumin (BSA), and the interaction mechanism between probe NI-1 and HSA or BSA site II was explained for the first time through molecular docking methods. These results indicate that the probe NI-1 has great potential in exploring further function of HSA for pharmacy and medicine.

Fluorescent Labeling of Human Serum Albumin by Thiol-Cyanimide Addition and Its Application in the Fluorescence Quenching Method for Nanoparticle-Protein Interactions.

Abstract: A boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY)-based fluorescent probe, BDP-CN, was synthesized in this work. It had a fluorescence emission maximum at 512 nm and a high quantum yield (48%). As evidenced by agarose gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, it could realize the fluorescent labeling of human serum albumin (HSA) through a thiol-cyanimide addition. Interestingly, f-HSA, defined as HSA labeled by BDP-CN, had an even higher quantum yield (77%). In addition, BDP-CN would not affect the secondary structure of HSA. Based on the successful formation of f-HSA, it was further applied to study the interactions with nanoparticles. The fluorescence quenching of f-HSA by dihydrolipoic acid-coated gold nanoclusters (DHLA-AuNCs) obeyed a dynamic mechanism, consistent with the intrinsic fluorescence quenching of HSA by DHLA-AuNCs. The association constant Ka between f-HSA and DHLA-AuNCs at 298 K was 1.5 × 105 M-1, which was the same order of magnitude as that between HSA and DHLA-AuNCs. Moreover, the interactions of f-HSA with glutathione-coated gold nanoclusters confirmed that the labeled fluorescence could replace the intrinsic fluorescence to monitor the interactions between proteins and nanoparticles. By this method, strong fluorescence ensures better stability and reproducibility, excitation at a longer wavelength reduces the damage to the proteins, and covalent conjugation with cysteine residues eliminates the inner filter effects to a great extent. Therefore, the strategy for the fluorescent labeling of HSA can be expanded to investigate a broad class of nanoparticle-protein interactions and inspire even more fluorescent labeling methods with organic dyes.

A chromone hydrazide Schiff base fluorescence probe with high selectivity and sensitivity for the detection and discrimination of human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA)

Abstract: The discrimination and identification of human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) is very important, which is due to the vital roles of two SAs in biological and pharmaceutical research. Based on structural screening and docking calculation from a series of homologues, a coumarin Schiff base fluorescent probe 3-hydroxy-N′-((4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)methylene)-2-naphthohydrazide (HCNH) has been designed and synthesized, which could effectively discriminate HSA and BSA. The probe HCNH exhibited superior sensitivity toward HSA and BSA with the detection limits of 10.62 nM and 16.03 nM in PBS solution, respectively. The binding mechanism of HCNH with SAs was studied by Job’s plot analysis, SA destruction and displacement assay. Molecular docking and DFT methods were utilized to provide deep insight into the spatial conformation change of HCNH and binding sites in HSA/BSA. The conformation of HCNH was significantly influenced by the microenvironment provided by HSA and BSA, therefore its fluorescence emission was affected correspondingly. Non-toxic probe HCNH could be successfully used for fluorescence bio-imaging of HSA in cancer cells, which is significantly different from normal cells and favors the application in medical diagnosis.

A chromone hydrazide Schiff base fluorescence probe with high selectivity and sensitivity for the detection and discrimination of human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA)

Abstract: The discrimination and identification of human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) is very important, which is due to the vital roles of two SAs in biological and pharmaceutical research. Based on structural screening and docking calculation from a series of homologues, a coumarin Schiff base fluorescent probe 3-hydroxy-N′-((4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)methylene)-2-naphthohydrazide (HCNH) has been designed and synthesized, which could effectively discriminate HSA and BSA. The probe HCNH exhibited superior sensitivity toward HSA and BSA with the detection limits of 10.62 nM and 16.03 nM in PBS solution, respectively. The binding mechanism of HCNH with SAs was studied by Job’s plot analysis, SA destruction and displacement assay. Molecular docking and DFT methods were utilized to provide deep insight into the spatial conformation change of HCNH and binding sites in HSA/BSA. The conformation of HCNH was significantly influenced by the microenvironment provided by HSA and BSA, therefore its fluorescence emission was affected correspondingly. Non-toxic probe HCNH could be successfully used for fluorescence bio-imaging of HSA in cancer cells, which is significantly different from normal cells and favors the application in medical diagnosis.

Metal-Organic Polyhedron with Four Fe(III) Centers Producing Enhanced T1 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast in Tumors.

Abstract: A metal-organic polyhedron (MOP) with four paramagnetic Fe(III) centers was studied as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probe. The MOP was characterized in solution by using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopies, Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry, and in the solid state with single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Water proton T1 relaxation properties were examined in solution and showed significant enhancement in the presence of human serum albumin (HSA). The r1 relaxivities in the absence and presence of HSA were 8.7 mM-1 s-1 and 21 mM-1 s-1, respectively, per molecule (2.2 mM-1 s-1 and 5.3 mM-1 s-1 per Fe) at 4.7 T, 37 °C. In vivo studies of the iron MOP show strong contrast enhancement of the blood pool even at a low dose of 0.025 mmol/kg with prolonged residence in vasculature and clearance through the intestinal tract of mice. The MOP binds strongly to serum albumin and shows comparable accumulation in a murine tumor model as compared to a covalently linked Gd-HSA contrast agent.

Rational Design and Pharmacomodulation of Protein-Binding Theranostic Radioligands for Targeting the Fibroblast Activation Protein.

Abstract: The fibroblast activation protein (FAP), overexpressed on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), has become a valuable target for tumor diagnosis and therapy. However, most FAP-based radioligands show insufficient tumor uptake and retention. In this study, three novel albumin-binding FAP ligands (denoted as FSDD0I, FSDD1I, and FSDD3I) were labeled with 68Ga and 177Lu to overcome these limitations. Cell-based studies and molecular docking assays were performed to identify the specificity and protein-binding properties for FAP. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans in human hepatocellular carcinoma patient-derived xenografts (HCC-PDXs) animal models revealed longer blood retention of 68Ga-FSDD0I than 68Ga-FAPI-04, 68Ga-FSDD1I, and 68Ga-FSDD3I. Remarkably, 68Ga-FSDD3I had prominent tumor-to-nontarget (T/NT) ratios. The prominent tumor retention properties of 177Lu-FSDD0I in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging and biodistribution studies were demonstrated. In summary, this study reports a proof-of-concept study of albumin-binding radioligands for FAP-targeted imaging and targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT).

Mechanistic Insight into Binding of Huperzine A with Human Serum Albumin: Computational and Spectroscopic Approaches

Abstract: Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant protein in plasma synthesized by the liver and the main modulator of fluid distribution between body compartments. It has an amazing capacity to bind with multiple ligands, offering a store and transporter for various endogenous and exogenous compounds. Huperzine A (HpzA) is a natural sesquiterpene alkaloid found in Huperzia serrata and used in various neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study elucidated the binding of HpzA with HSA using advanced computational approaches such as molecular docking and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation followed by fluorescence-based binding assays. The molecular docking result showed plausible interaction between HpzA and HSA. The MD simulation and principal component analysis (PCA) results supported the stable interactions of the protein–ligand complex. The fluorescence assay further validated the in silico study, revealing significant binding affinity between HpzA and HSA. This study advocated that HpzA acts as a latent HSA binding partner, which may be investigated further in AD therapy in experimental settings.

Arsenite-loaded albumin nanoparticles for targeted synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy of HCC

Abstract: Arsenic trioxide (ATO, As2O3), an active ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an effective therapeutic agent for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, the application of ATO in treating advanced solid tumors like hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still restricted by limited therapeutic efficacy and insufferable side effects. To solve this problem, we reported a general and facile strategy using human serum albumin (HSA) as a template for synthesizing a series of ATO-based nanoparticles with uniform single-albumin size. Then, we prepared a multifunctional drug delivery system (MDDS) based on MnAs/HSA termed MnAs/ICG/HSA-RGD, and tested its efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. Our results revealed that the photothermal effect of MnAs/ICG/HSA-RGD can not only cause irreversible damage to the tumor but also accelerate the discharge of As and Mn2+ ions, enabling responsive chemotherapy and magnetic resonance imaging. Interestingly, the expression of HSP90, vimentin, and MMP-9 in tumor cells was inhibited during the treatment, resulting in less metastasis and recurrence. Moreover, no apparent side effect has been observed during the treatment. Therefore, MnAs/ICG/HSA-RGD can be considered as a promising option for HCC with excellent therapeutic efficacy and minimum side effects.