Fluorescent Probe for in Vivo Partitioning into Dynamic Lipid Droplets Enables Monitoring of Water Permeability-Induced Edema

Lipid droplets (LDs) are intracellular organelles foundin mostcell types from adipocytes to cancer cells. Although recent investigationshave implicated LDs in numerous diseases, the current available methodsto monitor them in vertebrate models rely on static imaging usingfluorescent dyes, limiting the investigation of their rapid in vivodynamics. Here, we report a fluorophore chemistry approach to enablein vivo LD dynamic monitoring using a Nernstian partitioning mechanism.Interestingly, the effect of atorvastatin and osmotic treatments towardLDs revealed an unprecedented dynamic enhancement. Then, using a designedmolecular probe with an optimized response to hydration and LD dynamicsapplied to Zebrafish developing pericardial and yolk-sac edema, whichrepresents a tractable model of a human cardiovascular disease, wealso provide a unique dual method to detect disease evolution andrecovery.