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A pH-responsive activatable aptamer probe for targeted cancer imaging based on i-motif-driven conformation alteration

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  • SPECIAL TOPIC · New Researches of State Key Laboratories in Analytical Chemistry
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Abstract

We present here a pH-responsive activatable aptamer probe for targeted cancer imaging based on i-motif-driven conformation alteration. This pH-responsive activatable aptamer probe is composed of two single-stranded DNA. One was used for target recognition, containing a central, target specific aptamer sequence at the 3'-end and an extension sequence at the 5'-end with 5-carboxytetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA) label (denoted as strand A). The other (strand I), being competent to work on the formation of i-motif structure, contained four stretches of the cytosine (C) rich domain and was labeled with a Black Hole Quencher 2 (BHQ2) at the 3'-end. At neutral or slightly alkaline pH, strand I was hybridized to the extension sequence of strand A to form a double-stranded DNA probe, termed i-motif-based activatable aptamer probe (I-AAP). Because of proximityinduced energy transfer, the I-AAP was in a “signal off” state. The slightly acidic pH enforced the strand I to form an intramolecular i-motif and then initiated the dehybridization of I-AAP, leading to fluorescence readout in the target recognition. As a demonstration, AS1411 aptamer was used for MCF-7 cells imaging. It was displayed that the I-AAP could be carried out for target cancer cells imaging after being activated in slightly acidic environment. The applicability of I-AAP for tumor tissues imaging has been also investigated by using the isolated MCF-7 tumor tissues. These results implied the I-AAP strategy is promising as a novel approach for cancer imaging.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Lv’an Yan, Hui Shi, Dinggeng He, Xiaoxiao He, Kemin Wang & Fengzhou Xu

  2. College of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Xiaoxiao He & Kemin Wang

  3. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Lv’an Yan, Hui Shi, Dinggeng He & Fengzhou Xu

  4. Key Laboratory for Bio-Nanotechnology and Molecular Engineering of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Lv’an Yan, Hui Shi, Dinggeng He, Xiaoxiao He, Kemin Wang & Fengzhou Xu

Authors
  1. Lv’an Yan
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  2. Hui Shi
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  3. Dinggeng He
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  4. Xiaoxiao He
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  5. Kemin Wang
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  6. Fengzhou Xu
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Correspondence to Xiaoxiao He or Kemin Wang.

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Yan, L., Shi, H., He, D. et al. A pH-responsive activatable aptamer probe for targeted cancer imaging based on i-motif-driven conformation alteration. Sci. China Chem. 59, 802–808 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-016-5575-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-016-5575-2

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