1 research outputs found
Ratiometric Fluorescent Biosensor for Visual Discrimination of Cancer Cells with Different Telomerase Expression Levels
Telomerase is inactive
in normal somatic cells but highly activated
in tumor cells to maintain their indefinite proliferation and immortal
phenotype. As a specific marker for the generation and progress of
almost all tumors, the detection of telomerase activity by classical
PCR techniques has served in the biological research of tumors. However,
the detection of in situ telomerase activity in cell extracts to evaluate
the malignancy, progress, and metastasis of tumors remains a daunting
challenge. Here, a precisely designed FRET-based ratiometric fluorescent
oligonucleotide probe has achieved high-fidelity detection of telomerase
activity for accurate discrimination of different cancer cells toward
advanced diagnosis of tumors. Our method is superior to other methods
in its capabilities to quantify telomerase activity in cell extracts
and visualize various tumor cell extracts with different telomerase
expression levels by the naked eye for clinical diagnosis. In particular,
the ratiometric fluorescent probe used in the assay could exclude
other experimental factors influence, and further avoid false positive
signal generation. The method reported here could provide a reliable,
accurate, and convenient way in medical diagnostics and therapeutic
response assessment