Accurate analysis of microRNA (miRNA)
is promising for elucidation
of cancer processes and therapeutic effects. In this study, we reported
a new target-activated, light-actuated three-dimensional (3D) DNA
walker on gold nanoparticles for sensitive detection of miRNA using
pyrene-incorporated DNAzyme analogues. In this design, the target
miRNA activated the 3D DNA walker system to releases the walking arm.
Then, under ultraviolet light irradiation, the pyrene DNAzyme on the
walking arm would consecutively cleave the disulfide bonds of substrate
strands and recover the fluorescence signal, thus achieving the amplified
miRNA detection. The sophisticated design of the light-actuated 3D
DNA walker was systematically investigated. Furthermore, this strategy
could also be employed for miRNA analysis in serum samples with satisfactory
reproducibility. Notably, the proposed light-actuated 3D DNA walker-based
technique eliminated the need of enzymes, cofactors, and RNA backbones,
thereby significantly improving the stability and efficiency. Overall,
the light-actuated 3D DNA walker-based strategy enabled facile, sensitive,
and specific detection of miRNA and provided new perspectives in diagnostics.
Multifunctional cancer treatments based on gas therapy combined with other cancer treatments have gained tremendous attention and hold great promise in biomedical applications. In this study, a carbon monoxide-releasing nanoplatform combined with near-infrared (NIR) laser-triggered photothermal therapy (PTT) was constructed. The nanoplatform was composed of manganese pentacarbonyl bromide (MnCO)-loaded g-carbon nitride/polypyrrole (CNPpy) nanomaterials (MnCO@ CNPpy). MnCO can be triggered to produce CO under H 2 O 2 conditions. Upon exogenous NIR light stimulation and tumor microenvironment-overexpressed H 2 O 2 , MnCO@CNPpy exhibited excellent CO generation performance and photothermal effect. The generation of CO induced intracellular oxidative stress and caused cell apoptosis. Additionally, photoacoustic (PA) imaging was performed to track the delivery and accumulation of the nanomaterial in tumor sites because of the great photothermal conversion of CNPpy. The presented MnCO@CNPpy nanoplatform displayed desirable PTT and CO therapy in the inhibition of tumor growth and may provide a promising strategy for multifunctional antitumor synergistic treatments.
A theranostic strategy of multiple microRNA (miRNA)-triggered
in-situ
delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) can effectively improve the precise therapy of cancer cells. Benefiting from the advantages of programmability, specific molecular recognition, easy functionalization and marked biocompatibility of DNA nanostructures, we designed a three-dimensional (3D) DNA nano-therapeutic platform for dual miRNA-triggered
in-situ
delivery of siRNA. The 3D DNA nanostructure (TY1Y2) was constructed based on the self-assembly of a DNA tetrahedra scaffold, two sets of Y-shaped DNA (Y1 and Y2), and EpCAM-aptamer which functionalized as the ligand molecule for the recognition of specific cancer cells. After being specifically internalized into the targeted cancer cells, TY1Y2 was triggered by two endogenous miRNAs (miR-21 and miR-122), resulting in the generation of strong fluorescence resonance energy transfer fluorescent signal for dual miRNAs imaging. Meanwhile, the therapeutic siRNAs (siSurvivin and siBcl2) could also be
in-situ
generated and released from TY1Y2 through the strand-displacement reactions for the synergistic gene therapy of cancer cells. This 3D DNA nanostructure integrated the specific imaging of endogenous biomarkers and the
in-situ
delivery of therapeutic genes into the multifunctional nanoplatform, revealing the promising applications for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Electronic Supplementary Material
Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s40843-022-2420-y.
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