HepG2 cells were plated (1 × 10
6 cells per well) on a laser confocal culture dish, and the cells were first pretreated with various endocytosis inhibitors for about 1 h, then, gold salt and shRNA were added sequentially and incubated with the cells for 6 h. The concentrations of the inhibitors was as follows: 37 mg/mL
methyl-β-cyclodextrin, 10 μg/mL chlorpromazine, 10 mg/mL
rottlerin, 200 μg/mL
genistein, and 5 μg/mL
filipin III (Sigma-Aldrich, MO, USA). After 6 h of co-incubation, the HepG2 cells were washed three times with PBS and fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde for 30 min. The cell nucleus was stained with
DAPI (Beyotime, Shanghai, China). Finally, a
confocal microscope was used to image the sample with 488 nm (Leica, Wetzlar, Germany).
To observe the subcellular localization of Au–shRNA NCs, gold salt and the shRNA were co-incubated with HepG2 cells at 37 °C for 12 h. The specific experimental process was the same as that above-mentioned. Endosomes and lysosomes were labeled by Lysotracker Red for 30 min and washed with PBS (three times), followed by nuclei staining with
DAPI for 3 min. The images were obtained by
confocal microscopy (Leica, Wetzlar, Germany).
Cai W., Yin L., Jiang H., Weizmann Y, & Wang X. (2021). Intelligent Bio-Responsive Fluorescent Au–shRNA Complexes for Regulated Autophagy and Effective Cancer Bioimaging and Therapeutics. Biosensors, 11(11), 425.