Label-free fluorescence turn-on detection of uracil DNA glycosylase activity based on G-quadruplex formation

Transcriptionally amplified synthesis of fluorogenic RNA aptamers for label-free DNA glycosylase assay

We demonstrate for the first time the utilization of fluorogenic RNA aptamers for label-free uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) assay. Through rationally engineering the transcription machine with dU substitution, this assay requires only a single probe to simultaneously sense and amplify the UDG signal, achieving a low detection limit of 6.3 × 10^-6 U mL^-1. Moreover, it can be applied for screening UDG inhibitors and measuring endogenous UDG activity in different cells.

Recent advances in biosensor for DNA glycosylase activity detection

Base excision repair (BER) is vital for maintaining the integrity of the genome under oxidative damage. DNA glycosylase initiates the BER pathway recognizes and excises the mismatched substrate base leading to the apurinic/apyrimidinic site generation, and simultaneously breaks the single-strand DNA. As the aberrant activity of DNA glycosylase is associated with numerous diseases, including cancer, immunodeficiency, and atherosclerosis, the detection of DNA glycosylase is significant from bench to bedside. In this review, we summarized novel DNA strategies in the past five years for DNA glycosylase activity detection, which are classified into fluorescence, colorimetric, electrochemical strategies, etc. We also highlight the current limitations and look into the future of DNA glycosylase activity monitoring.

Beyond amyloid proteins: Thioflavin T in nucleic acid recognition

Thioflavin T (ThT) is a commercially available fluorescent dye that is commonly used in biomedical research for over five decades. It was first reported as an extrinsic fluorescent probe for the detection of amyloid fibrils and related processes and it has also been used extensively for assessing protein binding in fluorescence-based assays. Although the nucleic acid binding of ThT was reported half of a century ago in the 1970s, it was not widely explored until the start of this decade. In recent years, Thioflavin T has become a major tool in the recognition of many types of non-canonical nucleic acid conformations including duplexes, triplexes, and G-quadruplexes. The propensity of ThT binding is more towards base aberrations, bulges, and mismatches highlighting its importance in serving as a diagnostic tool in a variety of ailments/disease conditions. In this review, we cover major advancements in nucleic acid detection/binding by ThT to a variety of nucleic acid structures.

Inhibitors of DNA Glycosylases as Prospective Drugs

DNA glycosylases are enzymes that initiate the base excision repair pathway, a major biochemical process that protects the genomes of all living organisms from intrinsically and environmentally inflicted damage. Recently, base excision repair inhibition proved to be a viable strategy for the therapy of tumors that have lost alternative repair pathways, such as BRCA-deficient cancers sensitive to poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase inhibition. However, drugs targeting DNA glycosylases are still in development and so far have not advanced to clinical trials. In this review, we cover the attempts to validate DNA glycosylases as suitable targets for inhibition in the pharmacological treatment of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, chronic inflammation, bacterial and viral infections. We discuss the glycosylase inhibitors described so far and survey the advances in the assays for DNA glycosylase reactions that may be used to screen pharmacological libraries for new active compounds.

Base excision repair initiated rolling circle amplification-based fluorescent assay for screening uracil-DNA glycosylase activity using Endo IV-assisted cleavage of AP probes

Uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) is a crucial damage repair enzyme that initiates the cellular base excision repair pathway that maintains the integrity of the genome. Abnormal UDG activity may induce the malfunction of uracil excision repair that is directly related to a range of diseases including cancers, genotypic diseases, and human immunodeficiencies. In this work, a simple, robust and cost effective biosensing platform for the ultrasensitive detection of UDG activity is established based on the combination of base excision repair-initiated primer generation for rolling circular amplification (RCA) with Endo IV-assisted signal amplification. In the presence of target UDG, UDG can catalyze the removal of uracil on a hairpin probe (HP) leaving an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP site) which can be cleaved by Endo IV to generate a primer for triggering the RCA reaction. Subsequently, numerous AP site-embedded signal probes, acting as fluorescence-quenched probes, combine with the RCA products to perform signal transduction and quadradic signal amplification through an Endo IV-catalyzed cleavage reaction, thus significantly enhancing the fluorescence signal, which can be used for UDG activity screening. Under optimum conditions, this biosensor exhibits improved sensitivity toward target UDG with a detection limit of as low as 9.3 × 10-5 U mL-1 and a wide detection range across 5 orders of magnitude. Additionally, our biosensor demonstrates high selectivity toward UDG for simple, rapid, and low-cost detection. Furthermore, by redesigning the modification of HP and using of suitable endonuclease enzymes, this RCA coupled with Endo IV-assisted signal amplification strategy might be applied for the detection of various other targets, such as thymine DNA glycosylase, 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase, DNA methyltransferase, and so on. Hence, the proposed strategy provides a useful and versatile biosensing platform for the ultrasensitive detection of UDG activity and related fundamental biomedicine research and clinical diagnosis.

Fluorometric determination of the activity of uracil-DNA glycosylase by using graphene oxide and exonuclease I assisted signal amplification

The base-excision repair enzyme uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) plays a crucial role in the maintenance of genome integrity. The authors describe a fluorometric method for the detection of the activity of UDG. It is making use of (a) a 3'-FAM-labeled hairpin DNA probe with two uracil deoxyribonucleotides in the self-complementary duplex region of its hairpin structure, (b) exonuclease I (Exo I) that catalyzes the release of FAM from the UDG-induced stretched ssDNA probe, and (c) graphene oxide that quenches the green FAM fluorescence of the intact hairpin DNA probe in the absence of UDG. If Exo I causes the release of FAM from the hairpin DNA probe, the fluorescence peaking at 517 nm is turned off in the absence of UDG but turned on in its presence. The resulting assay has a wide linear range (0.008 to 1 U·mL^-1) and a detection limit as low as 0.005 U·mL^-1. It has good specificity for UDG over potentially interfering enzymes and gave satisfactory results when applied to biological samples. Conceivably, the method may be used in a wide range of applications such as in diagnosis, drug screening, and in studying the repair of DNA lesions. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of a fluorometric strategy for detection of the activity of uracil-DNA glycosylase by using on graphene oxide and exonuclease I assisted signal amplification.

Label-free and high-throughput bioluminescence detection of uracil-DNA glycosylase in cancer cells through tricyclic cascade signal amplification

We develop a label-free and high-throughput bioluminescence method for the sensitive detection of uracil DNA glycosylase through tricyclic cascade signal amplification.