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www.futurity.org_category_health-medicine_ 2015 00016.txt.txt

#Tiny laresshow when RNA goes off track A new technology called ticky-flaresoffers the first real-time method to track and observe the dynamics of RNA distribution as it is transported inside living cells. When RNA fundamental ingredient in all known forms of lifeoes awry, a lot can go wrong. RNA misregulation plays a critical role in the development of many disorders, such as mental disability, autism, and cancer. Sticky-flares have the potential to help scientists understand the complexities of RNA better than any analytical technique to date and observe and study the biological and medical significance of RNA misregulation. Previous technologies made it possible to attain static snapshots of RNA location but that isn enough to understand the complexities of RNA transport and localization within a cell. Instead of analyzing snapshots of RNA to try to understand functioning, Sticky-flares help create an experience that is more like watching live-streaming video. his is very exciting because much of the RNA in cells has very specific quantities and localization, and both are critical to the cell function, but until this development it has been very difficult, and often impossible, to probe both attributes of RNA in a live cell, says Chad A. Mirkin, a nanomedicine expert at Northwestern University and corresponding author of the study. e hope that many more researchers will be able to use this platform to increase our understanding of RNA function inside cells. Mirkin is professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and professor of medicine, chemical and biological engineering, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering. Sticky-flares are tiny spherical nucleic acid gold nanoparticle conjugates that can enter living cells and target and transfer a fluorescent reporter or racking deviceto RNA transcripts. This fluorescent labeling can be tracked via fluorescence microscopy as it is transported throughout the cell, including the nucleus. In the paper, the scientists explain how they used Sticky-flares to quantify ßctin mrna in Hela cells (the oldest and most commonly used human cell line) as well as to follow the real-time transport of ßctin mrna in mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Sticky-flares are built upon another technology from Mirkin group called Nanoflares, which was the first genetic-based approach that is able to detect live circulating tumor cells out of the complex matrix that is human blood. Nanoflares have been very useful for researchers that operate in the arena of quantifying gene expression. Aurasense, Inc.,a biotechnology company that licensed the Nanoflare technology from the university, and EMD-Millipore, another biotech company, have commercialized Nanoflares. There are now more than 1, 700 commercial forms of Nanoflares sold under the Smartflare name in more than 230 countries. The Sticky-flare is designed to address limitations of Smartflares most notably their inability to track RNA location and enter the nucleus. The research team believes Sticky-flares are poised to become a valuable tool for researchers who want to understand the function of RNA in live cells. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin diseases and the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence initiative of the National institutes of health supported the work. Details appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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