A lipophilic AIEgen for lipid droplet imaging and evaluation of the efficacy of HIF-1 targeting drugs
Xiujuan Shi, Simon H. P. Sung, Michelle M. S. Lee, Ryan T. K. Kwok, Herman H. Y. Sung, Haixiang Liu, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Ian D. Williams, Bin Liu, Ben Zhong Tang
Abstract
Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a transcription factor that mediates the cellular response to hypoxia. The upregulation of HIF-1 expression in hypoxic cells can induce the accumulation of lipid droplets (LDs), and the LD levels can in turn reflect the expression level of HIF-1. Herein, we report a LD-specific luminogen with aggregation-induced emission characteristics (AIEgen), and have explored its potential applications in the evaluation of the inhibitory efficacy of HIF-1 targeting drugs. Compared to Nile red, this AIEgen shows a larger Stokes shift, better photostability, a more sensitive response to changes in dye concentration and a broader quantitative range. We found that the AIEgen can be used for semi-quantifying LD levels in cancer cells under hypoxic conditions, and for evaluating the inhibitory efficacy of HIF-1 targeting drugs. This work provides a simple and cost-effective strategy for screening HIF-1-targeted drugs, which may also be an alternative for evaluating the drug efficacy of other LD-related diseases.