We developed two-photon (TP) probes for DNA (ABI-Nu), cytoplasm (Pyr-CT) and mitochondria (BF-MT). We found that ABI-Nu binds to AT in the minor groove, while ABI-Nu and BF-MT are effective for tracking in the cytoplasm and mitochondria, respectively. These probes showed very large effective two-photon action cross section values of 2230, 1555 and 790 Göppert-Mayer units (1 GM = 10⁻⁵⁰ cm⁴ s photon⁻¹molecule⁻¹) at 740 nm with emission maxima at 473, 561 and 560 nm, respectively, in each organelle. Using these probes, we quantitatively estimated the mean nuclear area and the ratios of nuclei to cytoplasm and mitochondria to nuclei in human colon tissues by dual-colour two-photon microscopy imaging within 2 h after biopsy. The mean nuclear area and the nuclei to cytoplasm and mitochondria to cytoplasm ratios increased in the following order: normal colon mucosa <colon adenoma <colon adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, the nuclear areas of these tissues showed significant differences that were well outside of the ranges of experimental errors, indicating the diagnostic potential of this method.

Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody, cetuximab, therapy has significantly improved the clinical outcomes of patients with colorectal cancer, but the response to cetuximab can vary widely among individuals. We thus need strategies for predicting the response to this therapy. However, the current methods are unsatisfactory in their predictive power. Cetuximab can promote the internalization and degradation of EGFR, and its therapeutic efficacy is significantly correlated with the degree of EGFR degradation. Here, we present a new approach to predict the response to anti-EGFR therapy, cetuximab by evaluating the degree of EGFR internalization and degradation of colorectal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Our newly developed fluorogenic cetuximab-conjugated probe (Cetux-probe) was confirmed to undergo EGFR binding, internalization, and lysosomal degradation to yield fluorescence activation; it thus shares the action mechanism by which cetuximab exerts its anti-tumor effects. Cetux-probe-activated fluorescence could be used to gauge EGFR degradation and showed a strong linear correlation with the cytotoxicity of cetuximab in colorectal cancer cells and tumor-bearing mice. The predictive ability of Cetux-probe-activated fluorescence was much higher than those of EGFR expression or KRAS mutation status. The Cetux-probes may become useful tools for predicting the response to cetuximab therapy by assessing EGFR degradation.

BER-blue and FER-green can detect the endoplasmic reticulum in a live tissue by two-photon microscopy.