Release date: 2018-02-22
Xinhua News Agency, Washington, February 15 (Reporter Zhou Zhou) The team of Chinese experts Zhang Feng of the American Broad Institute developed a "genetic test strip" to successfully detect some viral infections and tumor markers of lung cancer patients in the laboratory. .
A paper published in the journal Science on the 15th shows that by simply immersing the “gene test strip†in the treated sample, a line will show whether the target molecule is detected. One of the inventors of the CRISPR gene editing technology said that this tool can be used to detect nucleic acids such as viruses and tumor DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which is cheap, convenient and efficient.
The test strip is based on the genetic testing tool "Sherlock" developed by the Zhang Feng team. The name is taken from the novel character detective Sherlock Holmes and is condensed by the English partial letters of "specific high sensitivity and enzymatic unlocking".
This tool is similar to the structure of the current gene research technology "genetic scissors" CRISPR-Cas9, which consists of two parts: gRNA (guide RNA) and gene-cut protein, but the shear protein used by "Sherlock" is Cas13.
The researchers explained that after Cas13 cuts a specific RNA (ribonucleic acid), it continues to cleave the surrounding RNA. They use this "off-target" defect and add a fluorescent label with RNA when the label is cut. When turned on, a fluorescent signal is emitted to display the detection result.
In the latest published study, the Zhang Feng team improved the sensitivity of the "Sherlock". Initially, one molecule can be detected per microliter of blood sample, and now the sensitivity is 100 times that of the previous one. The free DNA from the tumor cells can be detected from the blood samples of lung cancer patients.
In addition, the gene test strip can detect up to 4 targets at a time, saving sample usage. For example, the symptoms of Zika virus and dengue virus infection are similar, and using "gene test strips" can detect which virus is in the blood sample at one time.
"The technology is widely used in the health field, including detecting infectious diseases and discovering genetic mutations that cause drug resistance and cancer." Zhang Feng said. In previous studies, "Sherlock" also identified genes that produce antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and strains that distinguish E. coli.
Source: Xinhuanet
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