Selective monitoring of vascular cell senescence via β-Galactosidase detection with a fluorescent chemosensor

Abstract A new senescence-responsive fluorescent probe (SRP) was developed for the detection of β-galactosidase activity in senescent cells. UV-absorption of t probe SRP at 495 nm was increased in the presence of β-galactosidase. Its fluorescence at λem 545 nm increased ∼27-fold upon incubation with β-galactosidase (0.1 U/mL). The SRP probe is non-toxic and highly chemoselective for β-galactosidase. The high cell viability and chemoselcivity of probe SRP offer it to be a suitable marker for assessing cell senescence in live cells. Using this probe, H2O2-induced cellular senescence of human umbilical vein cells (HUVECs) could be distinguished from normal cells based on the extent of fluorescent labeling of the cells. Moreover, it was preferentially localized in acidic lysosomes. Overall, SRP is a unique chemosensor that can provide preclinical information on cell senescence in vascular endothelial cells.