Isothermal amplification detection of miRNA based on the catalysis of nucleases and voltammetric characteristics of silver nanoparticles

miRNA Detection for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis by miRoll-Cas: miRNA Rolling Circle Transcription for CRISPR-Cas Assay

Micro-RNA (miRNA) emerges as a promising type of biomarker for cancer diagnosis. There is an urgent need for developing rapid, convenient, and precise miRNA detection methods that may be conducted with limited laboratory facilities, especially in underdeveloped areas. Herein, we developed a miRNA detection method termed miRoll-Cas, where miRNA is first amplified by rolling circle transcription and then subject to CRISPR-Cas13a assay. Using miRoll-Cas, we realized the sensitive detection of multiple cancer-relevant miRNA markers (miR21, miR141, and Let7b) and specifically identified other variants of the Let7 family, which can accurately discriminate prostate cancer patients from healthy people. We envision that miRoll-Cas may be readily translated to clinical applications in the diagnosis of a variety of diseases beyond cancer.

Point-of-care diagnostics approaches for detection of lung cancer-associated circulating miRNAs

Circulating cell-free miRNAs (ccf-miRs) have gained significant interest as biomarkers for lung cancer (LC) diagnosis. However, the clinical application of ccf-miRs is mainly limited by time, cost, and expertise-related problems of existing detection strategies. Recently, the development of different point-of-care (POC) approaches offers useful on-site platforms, because these technologies have important features such as portability, rapid turnaround time, minimal sample requirement, and cost-effectiveness. In this review, we discuss different POC approaches for detecting ccf-miRs and highlight the utility of incorporating nanomaterials for enhanced biorecognition and signal transduction, further improving their diagnostic applicability in LC settings.

Cross-platform genomic identification and clinical validation of breast cancer diagnostic biomarkers

Introduction: Circulating non-coding RNA is an ideal source to discover novel biomarkers for non-invasive screening. However, studies for the discovery of universal miRNAs in serum and exosomes for breast cancer early diagnosis are limited.

Methods: Based on bioinformatic analysis, in vitro and in vivo studies were performed to understand the role of identified hsa-miR-423-5p in cancer proliferation, migration, cancer stem cell properties. Next, global non-coding RNA expression profiles in blood serum and exosome were performed. hsa-miR-423-5p expression from a total of 356 peripheral blood samples was evaluated and the association of hsa-miR-423-5p expression with clinical characteristics, sensitivity and specificity for breast cancer diagnosis were assessed.

Results: The expression of serum and exosomal hsa-miR-423-5p is abnormally increased in breast cancer. Suppression of hsa-miR-423-5p inhibited cell proliferation and invasion in both T47D and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines, and tumor growth in vivo. Compared with 113 healthy women, quantification analysis of hsa-miR-423-5p in 224 breast cancer samples confirmed the abnormal expression. Serum hsa-miR-423-5p was significantly associated with the clinical stage (P=0.001) and Ki-67 level (P=0.004).

Conclusions: A translational bioinformatics analysis procedure and validation by in vitro, in vivo, and clinical samples reveal that hsa-miR-423-5p could be used as a non-invasive breast cancer biomarker.

DNA-templated copper nanoparticles for voltammetric analysis of endonuclease activity

A voltammetric sensor for the detection of endonuclease activity is constructed based on DNA-templated copper nanoparticles.