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Ang YS, Yung LYL. Protein-to-DNA Converter with High Signal Gain. ACS NANO 2024; 18:10454-10463. [PMID: 38572806 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c11435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
DNA isothermal amplification techniques have been applied extensively for evaluating nucleic acid inputs but cannot be implemented directly on other types of biomolecules. In this work, we designed a proximity activation mechanism that converts protein input into DNA barcodes for the DNA exponential amplification reaction, which we termed PEAR. Several design parameters were identified and experimentally verified, which included the choice of enzymes, sequences of proximity probes and template strand via the NUPACK design tool, and the implementation of a hairpin lock on the proximity probe structure. Our PEAR system was surprisingly more robust against nonspecific DNA amplification, which is a major challenge faced in existing formats of the DNA-based exponential amplification reaction. The as-designed PEAR exhibited good target responsiveness for three protein models with a dynamic range of 4-5 orders of magnitude down to femtomolar input concentration. Overall, our proposed protein-to-DNA converter module led to the development of a stable and robust configuration of the DNA exponential amplification reaction to achieve high signal gain. We foresee this enabling the use of protein inputs for more complex molecular evaluation as well as ultrasensitive protein detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Shan Ang
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Lin-Yue Lanry Yung
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
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Zhang Q, Hu J, Li DL, Qiu JG, Jiang BH, Zhang CY. Construction of single-molecule counting-based biosensors for DNA-modifying enzymes: A review. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1298:342395. [PMID: 38462345 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
DNA-modifying enzymes act as critical regulators in a wide range of genetic functions (e.g., DNA damage & repair, DNA replication), and their aberrant expression may interfere with regular genetic functions and induce various malignant diseases including cancers. DNA-modifying enzymes have emerged as the potential biomarkers in early diagnosis of diseases and new therapeutic targets in genomic research. Consequently, the development of highly specific and sensitive biosensors for the detection of DNA-modifying enzymes is of great importance for basic biomedical research, disease diagnosis, and drug discovery. Single-molecule fluorescence detection has been widely implemented in the field of molecular diagnosis due to its simplicity, high sensitivity, visualization capability, and low sample consumption. In this paper, we summarize the recent advances in single-molecule counting-based biosensors for DNA-modifying enzyme (i.e, alkaline phosphatase, DNA methyltransferase, DNA glycosylase, flap endonuclease 1, and telomerase) assays in the past four years (2019 - 2023). We highlight the principles and applications of these biosensors, and give new insight into the future challenges and perspectives in the development of single-molecule counting-based biosensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhang
- Translational Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, The Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China; College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China
| | - Juan Hu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China
| | - Dong-Ling Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China
| | - Jian-Ge Qiu
- Translational Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, The Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China
| | - Bing-Hua Jiang
- Translational Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, The Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
| | - Chun-Yang Zhang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China.
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Wang LJ, Liu WJ, Wang LY, Ho YP, Han Y, Li DL, Zhang CY. Construction of an Enzymatically Controlled DNA Nanomachine for One-Step Imaging of Telomerase in Living Cells. Anal Chem 2024; 96:4647-4656. [PMID: 38441540 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c05795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Telomerase is a basic reverse transcriptase that maintains the telomere length in cells, and accurate and specific sensing of telomerase in living cells is critical for medical diagnostics and disease therapeutics. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time the construction of an enzymatically controlled DNA nanomachine with endogenous apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) as a driving force for one-step imaging of telomerase in living cells. The DNA nanomachine is designed by rational engineering of substrate probes and reporter probes embedded with an enzyme-activatable site (i.e., AP site) and their subsequent assembly on a gold nanoparticle (AuNP). Upon recognition and cleavage of the AP site in the substrate probe by APE1, the loop of the substrate probe unfolds, exposing telomeric primer (TP) with the 3'-OH end. Subsequently, the TP is elongated by telomerase at the 3'-OH end to generate a long telomeric product. The resultant telomeric product acts as a swing arm that can hybridize with a reporter probe to initiate the APE1-powered walking reaction, ultimately generating a significantly enhanced fluorescence signal. Notably, endogenous APE1 is used as the driving force of the DNA nanomachine, avoiding the introduction of exogenous auxiliary cofactors into the cellular microenvironment. Owing to the high kinetics and high amplification efficiency of the APE1-powered DNA nanomachine, this strategy enables one-step sensitive sensing of telomerase in vitro and in vivo. It can successfully discriminate telomerase activity between cancer cells and normal cells, screen telomerase inhibitors, and monitor the variations of telomerase activity in living cells, offering a prospective platform for molecular diagnostics and drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Juan Wang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Wen-Jing Liu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Lu-Yao Wang
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China
| | - Yi-Ping Ho
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
| | - Yun Han
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Dong-Ling Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Chun-Yang Zhang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
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Jiang C, Wang Q, Geng J, Li M, Zhang Y, Shi X, Zhang Y, Song X, Zhang S. Single-molecule detection assisted by the target-triggered signal amplification strategy for ultrasensitive quantitative analysis of intracellular telomerase activity. Chem Commun (Camb) 2024; 60:1912-1915. [PMID: 38259117 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc05683j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
We developed a multiplex single-molecule quantitative assay of intracellular telomerase that used target-triggered signal amplification to enhance sensitivity, substrate reaction to increase signal stability, and quantum dots to enhance signal-to-noise ratio, obtaining an LOD of 5 × 10-14 IU for intracellular telomerase and LOD of 3 cells for multiple cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengfang Jiang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Linyi University, P. R. China
| | - Qi Wang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Linyi University, P. R. China
| | - Jing Geng
- Linyi Mental Health Center, Linyi City, Shandong Province, P.R. China.
| | - Mengmeng Li
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Linyi University, P. R. China
| | - Yuqi Zhang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Linyi University, P. R. China
| | - Xinli Shi
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Linyi University, P. R. China
| | - Yan Zhang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Linyi University, P. R. China
| | - Xinyue Song
- Linyi Mental Health Center, Linyi City, Shandong Province, P.R. China.
| | - Shusheng Zhang
- Linyi Mental Health Center, Linyi City, Shandong Province, P.R. China.
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