A glycyrrhetinic acid-iridium(III) conjugate as a theranostic NIR probe for hepatocellular carcinoma with mitochondrial-targeting ability.
Eur J Med Chem
; 264: 115995, 2024 Jan 15.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38043488
ABSTRACT
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major contributor to global mortality rates, but current treatment options have limitations. Advanced theranostics are needed to effectively integrate diagnosis and therapeutic of HCC. Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) has abundant binding sites with glycyrrhetinic acid receptors (GA-Rs) on the surface of HCC cells and has also been reported to possess ligands with mitochondrial-targeting capability but with limited efficacy. Herein, we report a near-infrared (NIR) luminescent theranostic complex 1 through conjugating an iridium(III) complex to GA, which exhibits the desired photophysical properties and promotes mitochondrial-targeting capability. Complex 1 was selectively taken up by HepG2 liver cancer cells and was imaged within mitochondria with NIR emission. Complex 1 targeted mitochondria and opened mitochondrial permeability transition pores (MPTPs), resulting in ROS accumulation, mitochondrial damage, disruption of Bax/Bcl-2 equilibrium, and tumor cell apoptosis, resulting in significantly improved anticancer activity compared to GA. This work offers a methodology for developing multifunctional theranostic probes with amplified specificity and efficacy.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
/
Glycyrrhetinic Acid
/
Liver Neoplasms
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Eur J Med Chem
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: