In endothermic species, heat released as a product of metabolism ensures stable internal temperature throughout the organism, despite varying environmental conditions. Mitochondria are major actors in this thermogenic process. Part of the energy released by the oxidation of respiratory substrates drives ATP synthesis and metabolite transport, but a substantial proportion is released as heat. Using a temperature-sensitive fluorescent probe targeted to mitochondria, we measured mitochondrial temperature in situ under different physiological conditions. At a constant external temperature of 38 °C, mitochondria were more than 10 °C warmer when the respiratory chain (RC) was fully functional, both in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells and primary skin fibroblasts. This differential was abolished in cells depleted of mitochondrial DNA or treated with respiratory inhibitors but preserved or enhanced by expressing thermogenic enzymes, such as the alternative oxidase or the uncoupling protein 1. The activity of various RC enzymes was maximal at or slightly above 50 °C. In view of their potential consequences, these observations need to be further validated and explored by independent methods. Our study prompts a critical re-examination of the literature on mitochondria.

Lichens play significant roles in ecosystem function and comprise about 20% of all known fungi. Polyketide-derived natural products accumulate in the cortical and medullary layers of lichen thalli, some of which play key roles in protection from biotic and abiotic stresses (e.g., herbivore attacks and UV irradiation).

A cell is the smallest functional unit of life. All forms of life rely on cellular processes to maintain normal functions, and changes in cell function induced by metabolic disturbances, physicochemical damage, infection, or abnormal gene expression may cause disease. To understand basic biology and to develop therapeutics for diseases, researchers need to study live cells. Along with advances in fluorescence microscopy and in vitro cell culture, live-cell imaging has become an essential tool in modern biology for the study of molecular and cellular events. Although researchers have often used fluorescent proteins to visualize cell-type-specific markers, this method requires genetic manipulations, which may not be appropriate in nontransgenic cells. Immunodetection of cellular markers requires the use of xenogenic antibodies, which may not detect intracellular markers in live cells. One option for overcoming these problems is the use of fluorescent small molecules targeted to specific cell types, which can enter live cells and interact with molecules of interest. We have used combinatorial chemistry to develop a large number of fluorescent small molecules as new imaging probes even without prior information about the probes' binding targets and mechanism, a strategy that we call the diversity oriented fluorescence library approach (DOFLA). We have used DOFLA to produce novel sensors and probes that detect a variety of biological and chemical molecules in vivo as well as in vitro. In this Account, we describe a series of fluorescent small molecules developed using DOFLA that bind specifically to particular cell types. These molecules provide new ways to detect and isolate these cells. The fluorescent probes CDy1, CDg4, and CDb8 tag embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells but not fibroblasts or germ-line cells. CDr3 binds to an intracellular neural stem cell marker, fatty acid binding protein 7, which allows researchers to separate neural stem cells from embryonic stems cells and more differentiated cells such as neurons and glia. In addition, we have developed CDr10, which distinguishes microglia from neurons and glia. CDy2 stains myocytes much more brightly than myoblasts because of the increase in mitochondrial membrane potential during myogenesis. GY and PiY selectively stain α and β cells of pancreatic islets, respectively. Histamine Blue binds directly to histamine and stains basophils and macrophages containing high quantities of histamine. Glutathione Green allows researchers to measure the level of glutathione in cells and tissues by binding to glutathione and then triggering a hypsochromic shift. We have also developed a set of compounds that bind to cancer cells based on the cell type of origin and biocompatible surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) nanotags for cancer detection. In addition to discussing these new probes and their cell-type specificity, we also describe their applications in new assays, cell characterization, and pathology studies.

Fluorescence labelling of an intracellular biomolecule in native living cells is a powerful strategy to achieve in-depth understanding of the biomolecule's roles and functions. Besides being nontoxic and specific, desirable labelling probes should be highly cell permeable without nonspecific interactions with other cellular components to warrant high signal-to-noise ratio. While it is critical, rational design for such probes is tricky. Here we report the first predictive model for cell permeable background-free probe development through optimized lipophilicity, water solubility and charged van der Waals surface area. The model was developed by utilizing high-throughput screening in combination with cheminformatics. We demonstrate its reliability by developing CO-1 and AzG-1, a cyclooctyne- and azide-containing BODIPY probe, respectively, which specifically label intracellular target organelles and engineered proteins with minimum background. The results provide an efficient strategy for development of background-free probes, referred to as ‘tame' probes, and novel tools for live cell intracellular imaging.

Enolase is a component of the glycolysis pathway and a "moonlighting" protein, with important roles in diverse cellular processes that are not related to its function in glycolysis. However, small molecule tools to probe enolase function have been restricted to crystallography or enzymology. In this study, we report the discovery of the small molecule "ENOblock", which is the first, nonsubstrate analogue that directly binds to enolase and inhibits its activity. ENOblock was isolated by small molecule screening in a cancer cell assay to detect cytotoxic agents that function in hypoxic conditions, which has previously been shown to induce drug resistance. Further analysis revealed that ENOblock can inhibit cancer cell metastasis in vivo. Moreover, an unexpected role for enolase in glucose homeostasis was revealed by in vivo analysis. Thus, ENOblock is the first reported enolase inhibitor that is suitable for biological assays. This new chemical tool may also be suitable for further study as a cancer and diabetes drug candidate.