An esterase-sensitive persulfide/hydrogen sulfide generating fluorogenic probe enhances antioxidant response

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and sulfane sulfur species such as persulfides and polysulfides protect the cells from oxidative stress and are central to the endogenous antioxidant response. Here, we designed and developed a tool that is cleaved by esterase to generate phenacylthiol, which is an artificial substrate for 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3-MST) and non-electrophilic lactone as a by-product. The esterase-sensitive persulfide generator enhances H₂S and sulfane sulfur and protects chondrocytes from the lethality induced by elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS).