Simultaneous Monitoring of HOCl and Viscosity with Drug-Induced Pyroptosis in Live Cells and Acute Lung Injury.

Pyroptosis is a newly identified form of cell death that is closely correlated with many diseases. Recent studies have indicated that the inflammation in pyroptosis would accelerate the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, intracellular viscosity is another key microenvironmental parameter that reflects many physiological and pathological states in the early stage, hypochlorous acid (HOCl), as an important ROS, also plays significant roles in a variety of pathologies. However, the fluctuation of viscosity and HOCl in the process of pyroptosis is still unknown. Herein, we present a dual-responsive fluorescent probe (Lyso-VH) for simultaneously detecting viscosity and HOCl. Lyso-VH was successfully used to image the fluctuation of HOCl and viscosity in the lysosome of three kinds of cells with dependent and independent channels. Moreover, Lyso-VH can be employed to investigate the changes of HOCl and viscosity during the process of pyroptosis in living cells and acute lung injury (ALI). Thus, this work can not only serve as a powerful tool to simultaneously visualize the fluctuation of HOCl and viscosity in lysosomes, but also provide a new insight into drug-induced pyroptosis in living cells and acute lung injury.