Sensitive and specific detecting biomarker of radiation-resistant nasopharyngeal carcinoma

In a paper published in Nano, a team of researchers from Jiangnan University, China have prepared a convenient sensing platform which can detect microRNA-205 (MiR-205) with high sensitivity and excellent selectivity using a TpTta-COF nanosheet and fluorescent oligonucleotide probes.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a kind of malignant cancer derived from the epithelial cells, which shows an apparent regional aggregation with a high prevalence in Southern China and Southeast Asia. With the ongoing improvement of radiotherapy technology, the therapeutic effect of NPC patients has been increased significantly. However, the easy recurrence and metastasis still cause the poor prognosis of NPC patients. Research indicated that radiation resistance may be a major obstacle leading to residual or recurring tumor. An important attribute of MiR-205 is its potential use as predictive biomarker for anti-radiation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and it is pivotal to monitor the dynamic change of MiR-205 for personalized, precise treatment.

There are several methods of detecting MiR-205, including limited complex detection processes, those with a poor sample detection limit and those that are time consuming. Therefore, a method for detecting MiR-205 based on 2D COF nanosheets and fluorescent oligonucleotide probe was constructed.

2D COF materials could adsorb single-stranded DNA (ss-DNA) because of π-π stacking interaction. The fluorescence of the dyes is quenched through fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Dye-labeled ss-DNA binds to 2D COF, and the fluorescence is recovered upon its specific interaction with the target biomolecules. The degree of fluorescence recovery is dependent on the conditions in the reaction environment, and it is also affected by the concentration of COF particles. By monitoring the fluorescence intensity of the biosensing platform, the concentration of target miRNA in the solution can be reflected, which indicates the feasibility of constructing the foundation for the quantitative determination of miRNA.

The results show that the method enables capture of MiR-205 sensitively in aqueous solution with a detection limit of 4.78 nM in the range 0-500 nM and R2= 0.989, and the method offers great specificity in that it can distinguish the target miRNA from mismatch non-target miRNAs. Considering its simple operability and excellent specificity, it has great application prospects in the detection of the miRNA biomarker in clinical diagnosis and personalized treatment plan.

More information:
Zhaoyu Han et al, Sensitive and Specific Detecting Biomarker of Radiation-Resistant Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma by TpTta-COF Nanosheet, Nano (2021). DOI: 10.1142/S1793292021500697

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