Hybridization chain reaction-based DNA nanomaterials for biosensing,bioimaging and therapeutics

DNA nanomaterials hold great promise in biomedical fields due to its excellent sequence programmability,molecular recognition ability and biocompatibility.Hybridization chain reaction(HCR)is a simple and efficient isothermal enzyme-free amplification strategy of DNA,generating nicked double helices with repeated units.Through the design of HCR hairpins,multiple nanomaterials with desired functions are assembled by DNA,exhibiting great potential in biomedical applications.Herein,the recent progress of HCR-based DNA nanomaterials for biosensing,bioimaging and therapeutics are summarized.Representative works are exemplified to demonstrate how HCR-based DNA nanomaterials are designed and constructed.The challenges and prospects of the development of HCR-based DNA nanomaterials are discussed.We envision that rationally designing HCR-based DNA nanomaterials will facilitate the development of biomedical applications.

Electrochemical analysis of microRNAs with hybridization chain reaction-based triple signal amplification

Selective and sensitive detection of trace microRNA is important for early diagnosis of diseases due to its expression level related to diseases.Herein,a triple signal amplification strategy is developed for trace microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) detection by combining with target-triggered cyclic strand displacement reaction (TCSDR),hybridization chain reaction (HCR) and enzyme catalytic amplification.Four DNA hairpins(H1,H2,H3,H4) are employed to form an ultralong double-strand DNA (dsDNA) structure,which is initiated by target miRNA-21.As H3 and H4 are labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP),numerous HRPs are loaded on the long dsDNA,producing significantly enhanced electrocatalytic signals in the hydrogen peroxide (H_(2)O_(2)) and 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) reaction strategy.Compared with single signal amplification,the triple signal amplification strategy shows higher electrochemical response,wider dynamic range and lower detection limit for miRNA-21 detection with excellent selectivity,reproducibility and stability.Taking advantage of the triple signal amplification strategy,the proposed electrochemical biosensor can detect miRNA-21 in 10 He La cell lysates,suggesting that it is a promising method for fruitful assay in clinical diagnosis.

Extracellular ATP-activated hybridization chain reaction for accurate and sensitive detection of cancer cells

Accurate and sensitive detection of caner cells is of significant importance for early diagnosis and treat-ment of cancer.Here,we developed an extracellular ATP-dctivated hybridization chain reaction(HCR)amplification strategy to meet this purpose.This strategy relies on three DNA probes,Apt-trigger,H1-AТP aptamer duplex and hairpin H2.The Apt-trigger probe consists of two com sequence for specific recognition of the target cells.and a trigger sequence for the HCR assembly.Theроnents:an aptamer duplex structure of H1-ATP aptamer causes the tochold in hairpin H1 to be hidden,preventing the strand-ent displacement reaction between haipin H1 and Apt-trigger.Upon activation with ATP the ATP aptamer will blnd to ATP to dissoci iate from hairpin H1,thus leading to an Apt-trigger-induced strand-displacement reaction and subsequent HCR with hairpin H2 on the target cell surface.Benefiting from aptamer recogni-tion and ATP-activated HCR amplification,this strategy can not only perform sensitive quantitative anal-ysis with a detection limit of 25 cells in 200 ul.of binding buffer,but also show desirable specificity and accuracy for identifylng target cells from control cells and mixed cell samples,Imporantly,this method retains stable and good perfor mance for target cell detection in 10%fetal bovine ser rum,den onstrating great potential for clinical diagnosis in complex biological matrices.Furthermore,this strategy can be adapted to detect various types of cancer cells by changing the corresponding aptamer sequence.

DNA hybridization chain reaction and DNA supersandwich self-assembly for ultrasensitive detection

The fabrication of sensitive sensors with high selectivity is highly desirable for the detection of some important biomarkers,such as nucleic acids,proteins,small molecules and ions.DNA hybridization chain reaction(HCR) and DNA supersandwich self-assembly(SSA) are two prevalent enzyme-free signal amplification strategies to improve sensitivity of the sensors.In this review,we firstly describe the characteristics about DNA HCR and DNA SSA,and then summarize the advances in the one-dimensional DNA nanostructures assisted by HCR and SSA.This review has been divided into three parts according to the two signal amplification methods and highlights recent progress in these two strategies to improve the detection sensitivity of proteins,nucleic acids,small molecules and ions.

An Endogenous miRNA-Initiated Hybridization Chain Reaction and Subsequent DNAzyme Activation for Cellular Theranostics

DNAzyme has emerged as a promising gene silencer for therapeutic applications.However,DNAzymebased gene therapy against tumors is still challenged by undesired cytotoxicity in normal cells.Herein,we explored the potential application of hybridization chain reaction(HCR)for endogenous miRNA-activated DNAzyme-based gene silencing,which performing amplified signal and cellular onsite therapy in one system.The DNA probes,called HCR-tDz circuits,are designed by combining HCR and therapeutic DNAzyme(tDz).The miRNA-21 is selected as the diagnostic target for its distinctive overexpression in cancerous cells,and the HCR is employed to amplify the miR-21 recognition event as well as the tDz activation.The massively repeated DNAzyme activated by miR-21-triggered HCR is utilized to catalytically cleave early growth response-1 mRNA and implement a cellular gene-silencing strategy.Results show that HCR-tDz nanostructure enables amplified miR-21 imaging in living cells.Furthermore,this nanosystem can effectively inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells with high specificity,thus resulting in sensitive diagnostic signaling and accurate therapeutic effects.

Optimizing the hybridization chain reaction-fluorescence in situ hybridization(HCR-FISH)protocol for detection of microbes in sediments

Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)is a canonical tool commonly used in environmental microbiology research to visualize targeted cells.However,the problems of low signal intensity and false-positive signals impede its widespread application.Alternatively,the signal intensity can be amplified by incorporating Hybridization Chain Reaction(HCR)with FISH,while the specificity can be improved through protocol modification and proper counterstaining.Here we optimized the HCR-FISH protocol for studying microbes in environmental samples,particularly marine sediments.Firstly,five sets of HCR initiator/amplifier pairs were tested on the laboratory-cultured bacterium Escherichia coli and the archaeon Methano-coccoides methylutens,and two sets displayed high hybridization efficiency and specificity.Secondly,we tried to find the best combination of sample pretreatment methods and HCR-FISH protocol for environmental sample analysis with the aim of producing less false positive signals.Various detachment methods,extraction methods and formulas of hybridization buffer were tested using sediment samples.Thirdly,an image processing method was developed to enhance the DAPI signal of microbial cells against that of abiotic particles,providing a reliable reference for FISH imaging.In summary,our optimized HCR-FISH protocol showed promise to serve as an addendum to traditional FISH for research on environmental microbes.

Effect of electroacupuncture on the mRNA and protein expression of Rho-A and Rho-associated kinase Ⅱ in spinal cord injury rats

Electroacupuncture is beneficial for the recovery of spinal cord injury, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. The Rho/Rho-associated kinase（ROCK） signaling pathway regulates the actin cytoskeleton by controlling the adhesive and migratory behaviors of cells that could inhibit neurite regrowth after neural injury and consequently hinder the recovery from spinal cord injury. Therefore, we hypothesized electroacupuncture could affect the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway to promote the recovery of spinal cord injury. In our experiments, the spinal cord injury in adult Sprague-Dawley rats was caused by an impact device. Those rats were subjected to electroacupuncture at Yaoyangguan（GV3）, Dazhui（GV14）, Zusanli（ST36） and Ciliao（BL32） and/or monosialoganglioside treatment. Behavioral scores revealed that the hindlimb motor functions improved with those treatments. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, fluorescence in situ hybridization and western blot assay showed that electroacupuncture suppressed the m RNA and protein expression of Rho-A and Rho-associated kinase Ⅱ（ROCKⅡ） of injured spinal cord. Although monosialoganglioside promoted the recovery of hindlimb motor function, monosialoganglioside did not affect the expression of Rho-A and ROCKⅡ. However, electroacupuncture combined with monosialoganglioside did not further improve the motor function or suppress the expression of Rho-A and ROCKⅡ. Our data suggested that the electroacupuncture could specifically inhibit the activation of the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway thus partially contributing to the repair of injured spinal cord. Monosialoganglioside could promote the motor function but did not suppress expression of Rho A and ROCKⅡ. There was no synergistic effect of electroacupuncture combined with monosialoganglioside.

An electrochemical biosensor based on DNA“nano-bridge”for amplified detection of exosomal microRNAs

Exosomal miRNAs,as potential biomarkers in liquid biopsy for cancer early diagnosis,have aroused widespread concern.Herein,an electrochemical biosensor based on DNA“nano-bridge”was designed and applied to detect exosomal microRNA-21(miR-21)derived from breast cancer cells.In brief,the target miR-21 can specifically open the hairpin probe 1(HP1)labeled on the gold electrode(GE)surface through strand displacement reaction.Thus the exposed loop region of HP1 can act as an initiator sequence to activate the hybridization chain reaction(HCR)between two kinetically trapped hairpin probes:HP2 immobilized on the GE surface and biotin labeled HP3 in solution.Cascade HCR leads to the formation of DNA“nano-bridge”tethered to the GE surface with a great deal of“piers”.Upon addition of avidin-modified horseradish peroxidase(HRP),numerous HRP were bound to the formed“nano-bridge”through biotin-avidin interaction to arouse tremendous current signal.In theory,only a single miR-21 is able to trigger the continuous HCR between HP2 and HP3 until all of the HP2 are exhausted.Therefore the proposed biosensor achieved ultrahigh sensitivity toward miR-21 with the detection limit down to 168 amol/L,as well as little cross-hybridization even at the single-base-mismatched level.Successful attempts were also made in the detection of exosomal miR-21 obtained from the MCF-7 of breast cancer cell line.To our knowledge,this is the first attempt to built horizontal DNA nano-structure on the electrode surface for exosomal miRNAs detection.In a word,the high sensitivity,selectivity,low cost make the proposed method hold great potential application for early point-of-care(POC)diagnostics of cancer.

Signal Amplification for Highly Sensitive Immunosensing

To dissolve the bottleneck problem of life and biomedical science in detection of biomolecules with low abundance and acquisition of ultraweak biological signals,highly sensitive analytical methods coupling with the specificity of biological recognition events have been quickly developed by the exploring of signal amplification strategies.These strategies have extensively been introduced into the development of highly sensitive immunosensing methods by combining with highly specific immunological recognition.They can be divided into two groups.One group of strategies attempts to transfer the immunological recognition event into large number of reporter probes or signal probes for signal readout by employing nano/micro-materials as vehicles for multi-labeling and/or molecular biological amplification for increasing the abundance of the signal molecules.The other uses nanomaterials or enzyme mimics as catalytic tools/tags to obtain enhanced detection signal.This review focuses on the significant advances in design of signal amplification strategies for highly sensitive immunosensing.