Advances in the detection of telomerase activity using isothermal amplification

Abstract

Telomerase plays a significantly important role in keeping the telomere length of a chromosome. Telomerase overexpresses in nearly all tumor cells, suggesting that telomerase could be not only a promising biomarker but also a potential therapeutic target for cancers. Therefore, numerous efforts focusing on the detection of telomerase activity have been reported from polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assays to PCR-free assays such as isothermal amplification in recent decade. In this review, we highlight the strategies for the detection of telomerase activity using isothermal amplification and discuss some of the challenges in designing future telomerase assays as well.

Enzyme and AIEgens Modulated Solid‐State Nanochannels: In Situ and Noninvasive Monitoring of H2O2 Released from Living Cells

“…1) Extracting targets from cells: There are several steps including cell lysis, centrifugation, shaking, heating, and cooling to extract targets from cells, which is a tedious process. 2) Adding into left chamber: When we add the extracted targets into detection device, omissions or pollution of samples may lead the irreversible mistake . Although nanopore electrodes or nanopipette have been successfully utilized in detection of intracellular target without sample pretreatment process, the insertion of nanoprobes to living cells is inevitable.…”

Analyte-responsive fluorescent probes with AIE characteristic based on the change of covalent bond

“…Over the past decade, fluorescent probes were capable of in situ, non-invasive and real-time monitoring of biological samples and biological processes in cells, tissues and organisms [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The probes not only give penetrating insights into comprehending physiological changes in basic biology and disease, but also offer a powerful approach for the development of interventional surgical imaging as well as imaging-guided therapies [7][8][9]. A large number of fluorescent probes [10,11] have been developed on the basis of various fluorescent materials such as quantum dots [12], upconversion luminescence nanoparticles, and organic dyes.…”

One-pot detection of telomerase activity with high sensitivity and specificity via RNA FRET probes and RNase H-assisted signal cycling amplification

“…[3][4][5] Telomerase has been deemed as a universal diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for cancers, as well as a promising anti-cancer therapeutic target. [6][7][8] Therefore, the sensitive and specic detection of telomerase activity is of great signicance for cancer diagnosis and therapy.…”