Amplifying DNA conjugated affinity ligands can improve the sensitivity and multiplicity of cell imaging and play a crucial role in comprehensively deciphering cellular heterogeneity and dynamic changes during development and disease. However, the development of one-step, controllable, and quantitative DNA amplification methods for multiplexed imaging of live-cell membrane proteins is challenging.

A research group led by Dr. HAN Da introduced the template adhesion reaction (TAR) method for assembling amplifiable DNA sequences with different affinity ligands, such as aptamers or antibodies, for amplified and multiplexed imaging of live-cell membrane proteins with high quantitative fidelity. 

This word was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

The precisely controllable TAR enables proportional amplification of membrane protein targets with variable abundances by modulating the concentration ratios of hairpin templates and primers, thus allowing sensitive visualization of multiple membrane proteins with enhanced signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) without disturbing their original ratios. 

Using TAR, the researchers achieved signal-enhanced imaging of six proteins on the same live-cell within 1-2 h. TAR represents an innovative and programmable molecular toolkit for multiplexed profiling of membrane proteins in live-cells.

Original link: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202406330