A Nonenzymatic Hairpin DNA Cascade Reaction Provides High Signal Gain of mRNA Imaging inside Live Cells

Enzyme-free signal amplification has enabled sensitive in vitro detection of biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. However, monitoring targets of interest in live cells via enzyme-free amplification is still challenging, especially for analytes with low concentrations. To the best of our knowledge, this paper reports the first attempt to perform mRNA imaging inside live cells, using a nonenzymatic hairpin DNA cascade reaction for high signal gain, termed a hairpin DNA cascade amplifier (HDCA). In conventional nucleic acid probes, such as linear hybridization probes, mRNA target signaling occurs in an equivalent reaction ratio (1:1), whereas, in HDCA, one mRNA target is able to yield multiple signal outputs (1:m), thus achieving the goal of signal amplification for low-expression mRNA targets. Moreover, the recycled mRNA target in the HDCA serves as a catalyst for the assembly of multiple DNA duplexes, generating the fluorescent signal of reduced MnSOD mRNA expression, thus indicating amplified intracellular imaging. This programmable cascade reaction presents a simple and modular amplification mechanism for intracellular biomarkers of interest, providing a significant boost to the search for clues leading to the accurate identification and effective treatment of cancers.