Researchers developed a fluorescent sensing strategy for rapid, ultrasensitive detection of BCR-ABL1 mRNA in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).1 Evidence suggests that the BCR-ABL1 transcript plays a role in leukemogenesis; therefore, methods for measuring BCR-ABL1 mRNA are of value in the diagnosis and treatment of CML. The journal article that described the fluorescent sensing strategy was published in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.
The study researchers began by validating the fluorescence sensing strategy, which was named DNAzyme Cleavage-induced RCA (or DCR), by demonstrating that the tool could detect BCR-ABL1 RNA in vitro. DCR was shown to have high sensitivity, with a detection limit of 9.4 fM for detecting BCR-ABL1. When evaluated in CML patients, DCR strategy could detect BCR-ABL1 mRNA expression and produce results consistent with those from an already established detection method, reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR).
Researchers showed that the DCR strategy could also be used to create an in situ fluorescence image of BCR-ABL1 expression in bone marrow cells. The results from DCR were compared with an established method, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and tight correlation between the two methods was observed.
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“In summary, an isothermal sensing strategy has been successfully developed for ultrasensitive fluorescence detection and in situ image of BCR-ABL1 mRNA by integrating functional DNAzyme with RCA strategy,” the study authors wrote in conclusion. “This developed DCR sensing strategy might provide a potential alternative tool for precise diagnosis of CML.”
Reference
- Zhoua X, Pana J, Ma Y, et al. An ultrasensitive fluorescence sensing strategy for detection and in situ imaging of chronic myeloid leukemia-related BCR-ABL1 mRNA. Sens Actuators B Chem. 2018;273:1456-1462.
