Wang Cai, Wang Chengcheng, Lu Weizhao, Wang Yanjiao, Yue Qianwen, Xin Dongyuan, Sun Baoliang, Wu Jingguo, Sun Jingyi, Wang Ying
The Second Affiliated Hospital, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Taian, Shandong 271000, China.
School of Radiology, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Taian, Shandong 271000, China.
ACS Sens. 2024 Feb 23;9(2):736-744. doi: 10.1021/acssensors.3c02024. Epub 2024 Feb 12.
The expression of microRNA (miRNA) changes in many diseases plays an important role in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of diseases. Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious disease of the central nervous system, accompanied by inflammation, cell apoptosis, neuronal necrosis, axonal rupture, demyelination, and other pathological processes, resulting in impaired sensory and motor functions of patients. Studies have shown that miRNA expression has changed after SCI, and miRNAs participate in the pathophysiological process and treatment of SCI. Therefore, quantitative analysis and monitoring of the expression of miRNA were of great significance for the diagnosis and treatment of SCI. Through the SCI-related miRNA chord plot, we screened out miRNA-21-5p and miRNA-let-7a with a higher correlation. However, for traditional detection strategies, it is still a great challenge to achieve a fast, accurate, and sensitive detection of miRNA in complex biological environments. The most frequently used method for detecting miRNAs is polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but it has disadvantages such as being time-consuming and cumbersome. In this paper, a novel SERS sensor for the quantitative detection of miRNA-21-5p and miRNA-let-7a in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was developed. The SERS probe eventually formed a sandwich-like structure of FeO@hpDNA@miRNA@hpDNA@GNCs with target miRNAs, which had high specificity and stability. This SERS sensor achieved a wide range of detection from 1 fM to 1 nM and had a good linear relationship. The limits of detection (LOD) for miRNA-21-5p and miRNA-let-7a were 0.015 and 0.011 fM, respectively. This new strategy realized quantitative detection and long-term monitoring of miRNA-21-5p and miRNA-let-7a in vivo. It is expected to become a powerful biomolecule analysis tool and will provide ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases.
微小RNA（miRNA）表达的变化在许多疾病中发挥着重要作用，对疾病的诊断、治疗及预后具有重要意义。脊髓损伤（SCI）是一种严重的中枢神经系统疾病，伴有炎症、细胞凋亡、神经元坏死、轴突断裂、脱髓鞘等病理过程，导致患者感觉和运动功能受损。研究表明，SCI后miRNA表达发生了变化，且miRNA参与了SCI的病理生理过程及治疗。因此，对miRNA表达进行定量分析和监测对SCI的诊断和治疗具有重要意义。通过SCI相关的miRNA弦图，我们筛选出了相关性较高的miRNA-21-5p和miRNA-let-7a。然而，对于传统检测策略而言，在复杂生物环境中实现对miRNA的快速、准确和灵敏检测仍是一项巨大挑战。检测miRNA最常用的方法是聚合酶链反应（PCR），但它存在耗时、繁琐等缺点。本文开发了一种新型表面增强拉曼散射（SERS）传感器，用于定量检测血清和脑脊液（CSF）中的miRNA-21-5p和miRNA-let-7a。该SERS探针最终与靶标miRNA形成了FeO@hpDNA@miRNA@hpDNA@GNCs的三明治状结构，具有高特异性和稳定性。这种SERS传感器实现了从1 fM到1 nM的宽范围检测，且具有良好的线性关系。miRNA-21-5p和miRNA-let-7a的检测限（LOD）分别为0.015和0.011 fM。这种新策略实现了体内miRNA-21-5p和miRNA-let-7a的定量检测和长期监测。有望成为一种强大的生物分子分析工具，并为多种疾病的诊断和治疗提供思路。
