Discovery of Butyrylcholinesterase-Activated Near-Infrared Fluorogenic Probe for Live-Cell and In Vivo Imaging

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is widely distributed in various tissues and highly implicated in several important human diseases, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the role of BChE in AD is still controversial, which may be partially attributed to the lack of a direct tool for real-time and noninvasive monitoring of BChE in in vivo. Here, we report three rationally designed near-infrared fluorogenic probes that possess excellent discrimination for butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) over the related enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The refined probe, BChE-NIRFP, not only functions as an exquisite substrate for BChE in in vitro assays but also represents a superb "signal-on" imaging tool to real-time track BChE levels in human cells, zebrafish, and a mouse model of AD. A further application of BChE-NIRFP to identify the cellular mechanism reveals that Aβ fibrils and insulin resistance may be important contributors to the abnormally elevated BChE levels observed during AD progression. Based on the results from the present study, this new probe is a valuable tool for basic and clinical research designed to obtain a complete understanding of the physiological roles of BChE in diverse human diseases, particularly AD.