DNA methylation analysis by digital bisulfite genomic sequencing and digital MethyLight

Alterations in cytosine-5 DNA methylation are frequently observed in most types of human cancer. Although assays utilizing PCR amplification of bisulfite-converted DNA are widely employed to analyze these DNA methylation alterations, they are generally limited in throughput capacity, detection sensitivity, and or resolution. Digital PCR, in which a DNA sample is analyzed in distributive fashion over multiple reaction chambers, allows for enumeration of discrete template DNA molecules, as well as sequestration of non-specific primer annealing templates into negative chambers, thereby increasing the signal-to-noise ratio in positive chambers. Here, we have applied digital PCR technology to bisulfite-converted DNA for single-molecule high-resolution DNA methylation analysis and for increased sensitivity DNA methylation detection. We developed digital bisulfite genomic DNA sequencing to efficiently determine single-basepair DNA methylation patterns on single-molecule DNA templates without an interim cloning step. We also developed digital MethyLight, which surpasses traditional MethyLight in detection sensitivity and quantitative accuracy for low quantities of DNA. Using digital MethyLight, we identified single-molecule, cancer-specific DNA hypermethylation events in the CpG islands of RUNX3, CLDN5 and FOXE1 present in plasma samples from breast cancer patients.     

Isothermal amplification and multimerization of DNA by Bst DNA polymerase

We have demonstrated the isothermal in vitro amplification and multimerization of several different linear DNA targets using only two primers and the strongly strand-displacing exonuclease-negative Bst DNA polymerase. This reaction has been termed linear target isothermal multimerization and amplification (LIMA). LIMA has been compared with cascade rolling-circle amplification and has been found to be less sensitive but to yield similar variable-length multimeric dsDNA molecules. Products from several different LIMA reactions were characterized by restriction analysis and partial sequence determination. They were found to be multimers of subsets of the target sequence and were not purely primer derived. The sensitivities with respect to target concentration of several different LIMA reactions were determined, and they varied from 0.01 amol to 1 fmol. The sensitivity and specificity of LIMA were further tested using E. coli genomic DNA, and the selective amplification of a transposon fragment was demonstrated. A successful strategy for reducing LIMA-dependent background DNA synthesis in rolling-circle amplification embodiments was devised. This entailed the affinity purification of circular DNA templates before amplification.     

环介导等温扩增核酸技术及其在食品安全检测领域的应用

环介导等温扩增(Loop-mediated isothermal amplification,简称LAMP)是利用能识别靶序列上6个位点的4个特殊设计的引物和一种具有链置换活性的DNA聚合酶,在恒温条件下,特异、高效、快速地扩增核酸的新技术。该技术在1h内扩增效率可达到109-1010个数量级,扩增产物是一系列反向重复的靶序列构成的茎环结构和多环花椰菜样结构的DNA片段混合物,电泳后在凝胶上显现出由不同大小的区带组成的阶梯式图谱。近年来LAMP技术以其特异性强、等温灵敏、操作简单、产物易检测等优点已经应用于食品安全检测领域的多个方面。     

One New Method of Nucleic Acid Amplification-Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification of DNA

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a novel nucleic acid amplification method, which amplifies DNA with high specificity, sensitivity, rapidity and efficiency under isothermal conditions using a set of four specially designed primers and a Bst DNA polymerase with strand displacement activity. The basic principle, characteristics, development of LAMP and its applications are summarized in this article.     

One new method of nucleic acid amplification—Loop-mediated isothermal amplification of DNA

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a novel nucleic acid amplification method, which amplifies DNA with high specificity, sensitivity, rapidity and efficiency under isothermal conditions using a set of four specially designed primers and a Bst DNA polymerase with strand displacement activity. The basic principle, characteristics, development of LAMP and its applications are summarized in this article.     

环介导等温扩增技术的研究进展

环介导等温扩增(loop-mediated isothermal amplification,LAMP)是一种新式核酸扩增技术,它依靠一种具有链置换活性的DNA聚合酶和2对特殊设计的引物,不需要反复的温度循环和昂贵的仪器设备,在等温条件下即可高效快速地完成扩增反应,目前已广泛应用于细菌、病毒、寄生虫等病原体的检测,及动物胚胎性别的鉴定。该文总结了LAMP技术的基本原理、相对于传统核酸检测技术的优点、产物的检测方法及其临床应用,最后指出LAMP目前存在的不足以及采取的相应措施,并对其发展前景进行了展望。     

Sensitive RNA detection by combining three-way junction formation and primer generation-rolling circle amplification

Recently, we developed a simple isothermal nucleic acid amplification reaction, primer generation-rolling circle amplification (PG-RCA), to detect specific DNA sequences with great sensitivity and large dynamic range. In this paper, we combined PG-RCA with a three-way junction (3WJ) formation, and detected specific RNA molecules with high sensitivity and specificity in a one-step and isothermal reaction format. In the presence of target RNA, 3WJ probes (primer and template) are designed to form a 3WJ structure, from which multiple signal primers for the following PG-RCA can be generated by repeating primer extension, nicking and signal primer dissociation. Although this signal primer generation is a linear amplification process, the PG-RCA exponentially can amplify these signal primers and thus even a very small amount of RNA specimen can be detected. After optimizing the structures of 3WJ probes, the detection limit of this assay was 15.9 zmol (9.55 × 10(3) molecules) of synthetic RNA or 143 zmol (8.6 × 10(4) molecules) of in vitro transcribed human CD4 mRNA. Further, the applicability of this assay to detect CD4 mRNA in a human mRNA sample was demonstrated.     

Sensitive isothermal detection of nucleic-acid sequence by primer generation–rolling circle amplification

A simple isothermal nucleic-acid amplification reaction, primer generation–rolling circle amplification (PG–RCA), was developed to detect specific nucleic-acid sequences of sample DNA. This amplification method is achievable at a constant temperature (e.g. 60°C) simply by mixing circular single-stranded DNA probe, DNA polymerase and nicking enzyme. Unlike conventional nucleic-acid amplification reactions such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), this reaction does not require exogenous primers, which often cause primer dimerization or non-specific amplification. Instead, ‘primers’ are generated and accumulated during the reaction. The circular probe carries only two sequences: (i) a hybridization sequence to the sample DNA and (ii) a recognition sequence of the nicking enzyme. In PG–RCA, the circular probe first hybridizes with the sample DNA, and then a cascade reaction of linear rolling circle amplification and nicking reactions takes place. In contrast with conventional linear rolling circle amplification, the signal amplification is in an exponential mode since many copies of ‘primers’ are successively produced by multiple nicking reactions. Under the optimized condition, we obtained a remarkable sensitivity of 84.5 ymol (50.7 molecules) of synthetic sample DNA and 0.163 pg (~60 molecules) of genomic DNA from Listeria monocytogenes, indicating strong applicability of PG–RCA to various molecular diagnostic assays.     

Universal digital high-resolution melt: a novel approach to broad-based profiling of heterogeneous biological samples

Comprehensive profiling of nucleic acids in genetically heterogeneous samples is important for clinical and basic research applications. Universal digital high-resolution melt (U-dHRM) is a new approach to broad-based PCR diagnostics and profiling technologies that can overcome issues of poor sensitivity due to contaminating nucleic acids and poor specificity due to primer or probe hybridization inaccuracies for single nucleotide variations. The U-dHRM approach uses broad-based primers or ligated adapter sequences to universally amplify all nucleic acid molecules in a heterogeneous sample, which have been partitioned, as in digital PCR. Extensive assay optimization enables direct sequence identification by algorithm-based matching of melt curve shape and Tm to a database of known sequence-specific melt curves. We show that single-molecule detection and single nucleotide sensitivity is possible. The feasibility and utility of U-dHRM is demonstrated through detection of bacteria associated with polymicrobial blood infection and microRNAs (miRNAs) associated with host response to infection. U-dHRM using broad-based 16S rRNA gene primers demonstrates universal single cell detection of bacterial pathogens, even in the presence of larger amounts of contaminating bacteria; U-dHRM using universally adapted Lethal-7 miRNAs in a heterogeneous mixture showcases the single copy sensitivity and single nucleotide specificity of this approach.     

LAMP快速检测对虾IHHNV的方法与应用

建立了一种检测对虾传染性皮下及造血组织坏死病毒(Infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis vi-rus,I HHNV)快速、灵敏的环介导等温扩增(Loop-mediated isothermal amplification,LAMP)方法。针对I HHNV非结构蛋白基因NS1序列的6个保守区域,利用Pri mer Explorer v4.0软件设计4条引物,建立了I HHNV环介导等温扩增快速检测方法,对反应温度和反应时间等参数进行了优化,并将建立的LAMP检测方法与常规PCR检测进行了比较分析。结果表明,LAMP最适反应在65℃恒温条件60min内完成,凝胶电泳呈现特征性梯型条带;反应体系中添加SYBR Green I荧光染料后,绿色的阳性结果很明显区别于橙色阴性结果。LAMP方法的最低检出限为100拷贝/μL,灵敏度较常规PCR高1000倍。用建立的LAMP方法对临床发病南美白对虾样品进行了检测,结果表明建立的LAMP方法适合于对虾I HHNV的现场快速检测。     

数字PCR技术及应用研究进展

数字PCR是继实时定量PCR之后新兴发展起来的一种绝对定量分析技术。通过将单个DNA分子转移入独立的反应室,PCR扩增反应后,对荧光信号进行检测分析,实现单分子的绝对定量。数字PCR技术摆脱了对标准曲线的依赖,具有更高灵敏度和准确度,在基因突变检测、拷贝数变异检测、微生物检测、转基因食品检测以及下一代测序等方面均得到广泛应用。本文介绍数字PCR技术的定量方法,并评述该技术在主要应用领域的研究进展。     

环介导等温扩增技术的应用进展

环介导等温扩增(loop-mediated isothermal amplification,LAMP)是一种新式核酸扩增技术,它依靠一种具有链置换活性的DNA聚合酶与2对特殊设计的引物,在等温条件下即可高效快速地完成扩增反应。相较于传统扩增检测方法,LAMP技术具有特异性强、灵敏度高、操作简单快速等优点,更能在现场快速检测和基层应用中广泛推广,目前LAMP技术已广泛应用于植物病害检测、动物病害检测、食品安全检测等领域。基于此,简要介绍了LAMP技术的基本原理、反应产物的检测方法,重点阐述了LAMP技术的改进与发展,综述了近年来其在科研生产中的应用进展,并对其发展前景进行了展望,以期为LAMP技术的进一步发展提供合理的研究方向。     

Quantifying and Optimizing Single-Molecule Switching Nanoscopy at High Speeds

Single-molecule switching nanoscopy overcomes the diffraction limit of light by stochastically switching single fluorescent molecules on and off, and then localizing their positions individually. Recent advances in this technique have greatly accelerated the data acquisition speed and improved the temporal resolution of super-resolution imaging. However, it has not been quantified whether this speed increase comes at the cost of compromised image quality. The spatial and temporal resolution depends on many factors, among which laser intensity and camera speed are the two most critical parameters. Here we quantitatively compare the image quality achieved when imaging Alexa Fluor 647-immunolabeled microtubules over an extended range of laser intensities and camera speeds using three criteria – localization precision, density of localized molecules, and resolution of reconstructed images based on Fourier Ring Correlation. We found that, with optimized parameters, single-molecule switching nanoscopy at high speeds can achieve the same image quality as imaging at conventional speeds in a 5–25 times shorter time period. Furthermore, we measured the photoswitching kinetics of Alexa Fluor 647 from single-molecule experiments, and, based on this kinetic data, we developed algorithms to simulate single-molecule switching nanoscopy images. We used this software tool to demonstrate how laser intensity and camera speed affect the density of active fluorophores and influence the achievable resolution. Our study provides guidelines for choosing appropriate laser intensities for imaging Alexa Fluor 647 at different speeds and a quantification protocol for future evaluations of other probes and imaging parameters.     

滚环复制技术的建立及在RNA病毒基因检测中的初步应用

滚环复制是噬菌体繁殖所采取的一种基因复制方式,这种方式可使单链的环形分子在聚合酶和引物的作用下进行体外自我扩增。本文中用可特异性连接环化的寡核苷酸链作为探针,分别进行了1份细胞培养的禽流感病毒H5N1亚型样品、1份细胞培养的SARS病毒样品和4份丙型肝炎病毒阳性血清样品的检测。检测原理是探针与靶序列杂交后便可在T4DNA连接酶的作用下形成滚环复制中的环化单链分子,该分子在同温下可被特异性引物滚动复制和支链扩增。本文还利用按禽流感病毒NA1基因区序列合成的模拟DNA分子对该检测方法的灵敏度进行了测试。结果显示：利用固相RCA技术成功检测到三种RNA病毒的基因,该方法的灵敏度可达到能检测10^3拷贝模式DNA分子的水平。与传统的PCR方法敏感性的比较尚待进一步研究。     

犬瘟热病毒RT-LAMP检测方法的建立和初步应用

目的利用环介导等温扩增（LAMP）技术建立一种检测犬瘟热病毒感染的新方法。方法根据GenBank中NP基因序列,设计4条LAMP特异性引物,对反应条件、特异性、可视化效果和应用效果进行研究。结果在60℃等温的条件下、1 h内可完成RT-LAMP扩增过程;特异性和可视效果良好;对63份临床标本进行检测,阳性检出率为71.4%（45/63）,检出率高于RT-PCR的63.5%（40/63）。结论建立的RT-LAMP检测方法,显示了较高的特异性和敏感性,而且兼具高效、快捷、可视化的优势,为临床检测犬瘟热病毒感染提供了一种快速简便的新途径。     

Investigation of the molecular mechanism of ICAN, a novel gene amplification method

Isothermal and Chimeric primer-initiated Amplification of Nucleic acids (ICAN) allows the amplification of target DNA under isothermal conditions at around 55 degrees C using only a pair of 5'-DNA-RNA-3' chimeric primers, thermostable RNaseH and a DNA polymerase with strand-displacing activity (H. Mukai et al. J. Biochemistry, in the preceding paper in this issue). Here we elucidated the mechanism of ICAN by analysing the nicking site of RNaseH, behaviour of chimeric primers and extension products. We found that the ICAN reaction was composed of two unique mechanisms, multi-priming and template-switching, that were responsible for the highly efficient amplifying capability of ICAN. The simultaneous occurrence of two types of reactions, one based on multi-priming and the other based on template-switching, is likely to drive the DNA amplification in ICAN.     

NLF2 gene expression in the endometrium of patients with implantation failure after IVF treatment

We developed and evaluated the specificity and sensitivity of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method for rapid detection of the multidrug-resistance gene cfr. A pair of outer primers and a pair of inner primers and one loop primer were specially designed for recognizing seven distinct sequences on the target cfr gene. The amplification reaction was performed within only 35 min under isothermal conditions at 63 °C in a regular water bath with visual measurement. The LAMP assay showed higher sensitivity than the conventional PCR, with a detection limit of 1 pg per tube of chicken Staphylococcus sciuri genomic DNA. The detection rate of cfr gene for 50 Staphylococcus clinical strains by LAMP assays was 16% and appeared 100% consistence with the result by PCR method. The LAMP method reported here demonstrated a potential and valuable means for detection of the multidrug-resistance gene cfr: easy, rapid, visual, specific, accurate and sensitive, especially useful for on-the-spot investigation.     

环介导逆转录等温扩增技术(RT-LAMP)在丙型肝炎病毒基因检测中的应用

该文介绍了一种便捷、灵敏而又特异的环介导逆转录等温扩增基因检测技术,该技术分别使用特异对应于靶序列中8个基因区段的3对特殊引物,并在反转录酶和Bst-DNA聚合酶的作用下对靶序列进行等温核酸扩增反应,整个检测反应只需1~2h。利用这种技术成功检测了丙型肝炎病毒基因,对60份经Real-time PCR或RT-PCR验证阳性的血清样品检测,阳性符合率为98%。同时,对扩增终产物进一步进行酶切分析,并与HIV、HBV和不同亚型流感病毒RNA进行交叉反应和特异性测试,均与预期结果吻合。将Real-time PCR定量后的RNA系列稀释后对检测方法的灵敏度进行了测试。结果显示,该技术的检测灵敏度在理论上可达到10个拷贝的RNA分子。以上结果证明,RT-LAMP扩增技术是一种检测程序简单、灵敏度和特异性较高的基因检测手段,在丙型肝炎病毒的快速检测方面具有一定的开发潜力。