Heavyweight: The formation of the quadration almost helix structure of DNA was tracked for the first time in living human cells.

Recently, Nature Chemistry published an article entitled "Single-visualsofation of DNA 1 G-da formation in live cells", which reported that a fluorescent probe (SiR-PyPDS) can track a single structural molecule of G4s in the nucleus of a living cell in real time, truly enabling the detection of dynamic processes in human living cells without interfering with the dynamic folding of G4sdoi: 10.1038/s41557-020-0506-4 G4s cannot be tracked by rapid-leaver technology due to the stability of G4s in cells that may be regulated by proteins (e.gdevocating enzymes)In addition, some probes commonly used to detect DNA and RNA in living cells have relatively high concentrations, which can interfere with the dynamic folding process of G4s and cause cell stress/toxicityFor this purpose, the team prepared a G4s-specific fluorescent probe that can be tracked in real time by combining a small portion of G4s (approximately 4%) at low concentrationssingle-molecule fluorescence imaging of G4 in living cells using the fluorescent probe SiR-PyPDS, the team attempted to estimate the proportion of G4s labeled by SiR-PyPDS in living cells and conducted a series of in vitro binding experiments with other G4sIt was found that siR-PyPDS in combination with G4s observed a similar resident time, both in vivo and in vitro, indicating that SiR-PyPDS can be used to detect endogenous G4sIn addition, in order to gain insight into the G4 folding process in living cells, the team used the DNA methylation reagent dimethylsulfate (DMS) to irreversibly capture the unfolded G4 stateIt was found that, over time, the binding of SIR-PyPDS to G4s decreased in cells within a few minutes of DMS processingthe dynamic folding and expansion of G4s in living cells The team believes that now that a single G4 has been imaged, it can track its role in specific genes and how they are expressed in cancerAs Professor Shankar Balasubramanian of Cambridge College of Chemistry and Cancer Research, Cambridge, uk, says, "Some cancer cells are more sensitive to small molecules targeting G4s than non-cancer cells, possibly because of the larger G4s in the early stages of cancer or in cancer cells." "From the discovery of the new thing "G4s" to the dynamic folding process that tracks it in living cells, every step is a big step, G4s is closely related to cancer-related genes, but can it be used to use its unique DNA structure as a target for cancer treatment? The G4s may be not far from the dawn, the editor thoughtReferences: 1 Single-visualisation of DNA 1 G-quadruplex formation in live cells s2 high-s.spha-dweud ing of DNA G-quadruplex structures in the human genome s.3DNA G-quadruplexes s mhes s-the-human siens: detection, functions and