A NIR fluorescent probe for Vanin-1 and its applications in imaging, kidney injury diagnosis, and the development of inhibitor

Vanin-1 is an amidohydrolase that catalyses the conversion of pantetheine into the amino-thiol cysteamine and pantothenic acid (coenzyme A precursor), which plays a vital role in multiple physiological and pathological processes. In this study, an enzyme-activated near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe (DDAV) has been constructed for sensitively detecting Vanin-1 activity in complicated biosamples on the basis of its catalytic characteristics. DDAV exhibited a high selectivity and sensitivity toward Vanin-1 and was successfully applied to the early diagnosis of kidney injury in cisplatin-induced kidney injury model. In addition, DDAV could serve as a visual tool for in situ imaging endogenous Vanin-1 in vivo. More importantly, Enterococcus faecalis 20247 which possessed high expression of Vanin-1 was screened out from intestinal bacteria using DDAV, provided useful guidance for the rational use of NSAIDs in clinic. Finally, oleuropein as a potent natural inhibitor for Vanin-1 was discovered from herbal medicines library using a high-throughput screening method using DDAV, which held great promise for clinical therapy of inflammatory bowel disease.