Simultaneous Recognition of Over- and Under-Expressed MicroRNAs Using Nanopore Decoding

Abstract

This paper describes a strategy for simultaneous recognition of over-and under-expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) using the method of signal classification-based nanopore decoding. MiRNA has attracted attention as a promising biomarker for cancer diagnosis owing to its cancer-type-specific expression patterns. While nanopore technology has emerged as a simple and label-free method to detect miRNAs and their expression patterns, recognizing patterns involving simultaneous over/underexpression is still challenging due to the inherent working principles. Here, inspired by the sequence design for DNA computation with nanopore decoding, we designed diagnostic DNA probes targeting two individual over/under-expressed miRNAs in the serum of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Through nanopore measurements, our designed probes exhibited characteristic current signals depending on the hybridized miRNA species, which were plotted on the scatter plot of duration versus current blocking ratio. The classified signals reflected the relative abundance of target miRNAs, thereby enabling successful pattern recognition of over/under-expressed miRNAs, even when using clinical samples. We believe that our method paves the way for miRNA-targeting simple diagnosis as a liquid biopsy.

Design and Construction of a Multi-Tiered Minimal Actin Cortex for Structural Support in Lipid Bilayer Applications

“…A number of emerging sensing technologies critically depend on robust lipid bilayers, including those based on biological nanopores. − To work properly, analytes must be able to move from the bathing solution surrounding the interface to the mouth of the nanopore. Specific nanopore sensing applications include DNA sequencing, RNA sequencing, − nucleic acid detection, − polypeptide detection, RNA profiling, synthetic polymer characterization, − digital data storage, − disease detection, ion sensing, small molecule detection, and sensing of protein–drug interactions . Multiple types of nanopores with various pore sizes and channel structures can be employed.…”