Revealing the amyloid β-protein with zinc finger protein of micronucleus during Alzheimer's disease progress by a quaternary ammonium terpyridine probe

Micronucleus (MN) is regarded as an abnormal structure in eukaryotic cells which can be used as a biomarker for genetic instability. However, direct observation of MN in living cells is rarely achieved due to the lack of probes that are capable of distinguishing nuclear- and MN-DNA. Herein, a water-soluble terpyridine organic small molecule (ABT) was designed and employed to recognize Zinc-finger protein (ZF) for imaging intracellular MN. The in vitro experiments suggested ABT has a high affinity towards ZF. Further live cell staining showed that ABT could selectively target MN in HeLa and NSC34 cells when combined with ZF. Importantly, we use ABT to uncover the correlation between neurotoxic amyloid β-protein (Aβ) and MN during Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression. Thus, this study provides profound insight into the relationship between Aβ and genomic disorders, offering a deeper understanding for the diagnosis and treatment of AD.