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Fluorescent DNA tetrahedral probe with catalytic hairpin self-assembly reaction for imaging of miR-21 and miR-155 in living cells

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Abstract

A CHA-based fluorescent DNA tetrahedral probe (FDTp) has been designed to detect the microRNAs miR-21 and miR-155 sensitively and specifically in living cells. The design consisted of functional elements (H1, H2, and Protector) connected to a DNA tetrahedron modified with two pairs of fluorophores and quenching groups. In the presence of miR-21, the chain displacement effect was triggered and Cy3 fluorescence was emitted. In the presence of miR-155, the signal of the catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) between H1 and H2 on FDTp was amplified, making the fluorescence of FAM sensitive to miR-155. Using this method, the detection limit for miR-155 was 5 pM. The FDTp successfully imaged miR-21 and miR-155 in living cells and distinguished a variety of cell lines based on their expression levels of miR-21 and miR-155. The detection and imaging of dual targets in this design ensured the accuracy of tumor diagnosis and provided a new method for early tumor diagnosis.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets used or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82072058, No. 82230070).

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Author notes

  1. Shan Wang and Jiejie Guang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biomedical Functional Materials, School of Sciences, China Pharmaceutical University, Nan**g, 211198, China

    Shan Wang, Jiejie Guang, Yahui Gao, Bingyuan Fan, Yan Liang, **ru Pan, Wei Meng & Fang Hu

  2. Pharmacy Department, Huangshan City People’s Hospital, Liyuan Road, Tunxi District, Huangshan, 245000, China

    Jiejie Guang

  3. Nan**g Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nan**g University Medical School, Nan**g, 210008, China

    Li Li

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  1. Shan Wang
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Shan Wang1 and Jiejie Guang1 contributed equally to this work. All authors have approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Wang, S., Guang, J., Gao, Y. et al. Fluorescent DNA tetrahedral probe with catalytic hairpin self-assembly reaction for imaging of miR-21 and miR-155 in living cells. Microchim Acta 191, 462 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-024-06529-4

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