posted on 2021-09-02, 02:29authored byPushpendra
M. Mishra, Chethana Rao, Ankita Sarkar, Aditya Yadav, Kush Kaushik, Amit Jaiswal, Chayan K. Nandi
Direct
visualization of the dynamic events in lysosomes during
drug-mediated programmed cell death (apoptosis) is a great challenge.
This is due to the lack of resolving power of a conventional microscope
and also the unavailability of a suitable multimodal probe that simultaneously
can carry the drug with high loading capacity and ensure its specific
internalization into lysosomes. In this work, using super-resolution
microscopy, we observed the lysosomal expansion during apoptosis that
was treated with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) conjugated to bovine
serum albumin (BSA). Albumin protein is known to internalize into
lysosomes via endocytosis, thus helping in the specific delivery of
EGCG to the lysosomal compartment. The conjugation of EGCG to BSA
not only helped in increasing the killing efficiency of cancer cells
but it also reduces the side effects and produces minimal reactive
oxygen species. The decrease in local viscosity helped in lysosomal
expansion during apoptosis.