Monitoring GSH dynamics under drug intervention in HepG2 cells and visualizing the engrafted liver cancer in zebrafish with a glycyrrhetinic acid-based reversible fluorescent probe

The liver is the primary organ of glutathione (GSH) synthesis and previous studies have shown that GSH is deeply involved in the occurrence, metastasis, and treatment of liver cancer. Therefore, studying the specific role of GSH can help us deepen our understanding of the various processes of liver cancer. Undoubtedly, reversible GSH fluorescent probes with liver cancer-targeting ability can provide a powerful tool for such research. Here, we developed a glycyrrhetinic acid-based hepatoma-specific reversible fluorescent probe (GR-GA) for GSH detection. Probe GR-GA has excellent reversibility with a suitable detection range and ideal reaction speed. In view of the above merits, the probe has been successfully employed in monitoring GSH dynamics under gemcitabine intervention in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, based on good screening ability for hepatoma cells, probe GR-GA was also successfully used to specifically visualize the engrafted liver cancer in zebrafish. We expect that this work will furnish an effective means to get more insights into the special physiological actions of GSH in liver cancer. Importantly, our work will provide insights into the development of probes for specifically visualizing bioactive species in the engrafted human cancer in zebrafish.