4-5-diaminofluorescein and 4-5-diaminofluorescein-diacetate

Nitric oxide ((*)NO) has been implicated in multiple physiological and pathological immune processes. Different methods have been developed to detect and quantify (*)NO, where one of the principal difficulties are the accurately detection in cellular system with low levels of (*)NO production. The choice of the (*)NO detection method to be used depends on the characteristics of the experimental system and the levels of (*)NO production which depend on either the organism source of samples or the experimental conditions. Recently, high sensitive methods to detect and image (*)NO have been reported using 4,5-diaminofluorescein-based fluorescent probes (DAF) and its derivate 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2 DA). This work was aimed to adapt and optimize the use of DAF probes to detect and quantify the (*)NO production in systems of high, moderate and low out-put production, especially in human PBMC and their subpopulations. Here, we report an original experimental design which is useful to detect and estimate (*)NO fluxes in human PBMC and their subpopulations with high specificity and sensitivity.

Topics: Animals; Flow Cytometry; Fluorescein; Fluorescent Dyes; Humans; Jurkat Cells; Leukocytes, Mononuclear; Mice; Nitric Oxide; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spectrometry, Fluorescence

This study aimed to examine topographic distribution of microvascular NO generation in vivo. To this end, nitrosonium ion (NO+)-sensitive diaminofluorescein diacetate was superfused continuously on the rat mesentery and the fluorescence was visualized in the microvessels through laser confocal microfluorography. Two major sites exhibited a time-dependent elevation of the fluorescence: microvascular endothelia and mast cells. As judged by the fluorescence sensitivity to local application of different inhibitors of NO synthase (NOS), NO availability in arteriolar endothelium and mast cells appeared to be maintained mainly by NOS1, whereas that in venular endothelium greatly depends on NOS3. In venules, the magnitude of inhibitory responses elicited by the inhibitors was positively correlated with the density of leukocyte adhesion. NOS inhibitors significantly reduced, but did not eliminate, the NO+-associated fluorescence in arterioles, capillaries, and venules, suggesting alternative sources of NO in circulation for these microvessels. Immunohistochemistry for NOS isozymes revealed that NOS1 occurred not only in nerve fibers innervated to arterioles but also abundantly in mast cells. Laser flow cytometry of peritoneal cells in vitro revealed abundant expression of NOS1 in mast cells. Interestingly, NOS3 occurred in endothelia of capillaries and venules but not in those of distal arterioles with comparable diameters. These results suggest that the arterioles receive NO from nonendothelial origins involving NOS1 present in nerve terminals and mast cells, whereas venules depend on the endothelial NOS as a major source. Furthermore, nonenzymatic sources of NO from circulating reservoirs constitute a notable fraction throughout different classes of microvessels. The full text of this article is available at http://www.circresaha.org.

Topics: Animals; Arterioles; Biological Availability; Brain; Endothelium, Vascular; Enzyme Inhibitors; Flow Cytometry; Fluorescein; Fluorescent Dyes; Immunohistochemistry; In Vitro Techniques; Isoenzymes; Male; Mast Cells; Microcirculation; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Models, Biological; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Splanchnic Circulation; Venules

The fluorescent indicator of nitric oxide (NO), 4,5-diaminofluorescein (DAF-2), and its membrane-permeable derivative (DAF-2 diacetate) have been recently developed to perform real-time biological imaging of NO. In this study, we show that DAF-2 is strongly influenced by factors other than the concentration of NO itself. Using measurements with a fluorimeter as well as fluorescence microscopy, we found that the divalent cation concentration in the medium, as well as the incident light, strongly affects the ability of DAF-2 to detect NO. Calcium, in particular, enhanced the signal detection of NO released by NO donors by up to 200 times. With multiple and longer exposures to light, no bleaching of the dye was observed but, instead, a potentiation of the fluorescence response could be measured. While these two properties will affect the use and interpretation of the hitherto acquired data with this fluorescent compound, they may also open up new possibilities for its application.

Topics: Artifacts; Calcium; Cations, Divalent; Cell Line; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; Fluorescein; Fluorescence; Fluorometry; Humans; Intracellular Fluid; Isotonic Solutions; Kidney; Light; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Donors; Photochemistry; Reproducibility of Results; Ringer's Solution; Sensitivity and Specificity

Using 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2DA), which was recently developed for the detection of intracellular nitric oxide (NO) in living cells, we examined the sensitivity of intracellular NO in cells treated with some fixatives. Cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells loaded with DAF-2DA in the presence of 10(-6) M acetylcholine showed intense fluorescence when fixed in paraformaldehyde or glutaraldehyde, but no fluorescence could be detected after fixation in ethanol or acetone. Fluorescence generation depended on the combination of each aldehyde fixative with DAF-2, which is produced enzymatically from DAF-2DA within the cells. Subtracting the fluorescence intensity of non-activated controls from that of cells activated by acetylcholine indicated the NO produced in the stimulated cells, since the control cells that took up DAF-2DA also generated fluorescence when treated with aldehyde fixatives. Thus, detection of intracellular NO by combining aldehyde fixatives with DAF-2DA is useful for examining the functions of NO in cells both in situ and in vivo.

Topics: Acetone; Acetylcholine; Cells, Cultured; Endothelium, Vascular; Ethanol; Fixatives; Fluorescein; Formaldehyde; Glutaral; Humans; Indicators and Reagents; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Polymers; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tissue Fixation; Umbilical Veins