Golgi-Targeted Viscosity Fluorescent Probe for Monitoring Acute Lung Injury

Abstract

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe respiratory disorder driven by uncontrolled inflammation, where early diagnosis and intervention are critical. Recent evidence implicates Golgi apparatus dysfunction in ALI progression, but its biophysical changes remain unexplored. Here, we report GV, a novel Golgi-targeted fluorescent probe with high photostability, low cytotoxicity, and excellent specificity, enabling sensitive imaging of viscosity changes under stress. Using both cellular and mouse models of ALI, we demonstrated a significant increase in Golgi viscosity during disease progression. These findings suggest that Golgi viscosity may serve as a potential biomarker for ALI and establish GV as a powerful tool for investigating organelle-level biophysical alterations in inflammatory diseases.