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DNA NANOTECHNOLOGY

Lysosomes uncovered

Nature Reviews Materials volume 4, page 2 (2019)Cite this article

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Lysosomes are not only the waste disposal system of cells, but they also regulate key cellular functions, including autophagy and innate immunity. Assigning specific functions to populations of lysosomes has been challenging thus far owing to difficulties in resolving lysosome chemotypes. Now, writing in Nature Nanotechnology, Yamuna Krishnan and colleagues demonstrate how a DNA-based reporter can be used to simultaneously measure lysosomal pH and chloride concentration in live cells, revealing chemically distinct sub-populations that play a role in lysosomal diseases.

The fluorescent combination reporter — named ChloropHore — is made of a 61-base pair DNA duplex. The duplex comprises a chloride reporter domain, which contains a peptide nucleic acid sequence conjugated to a fluorescent, chloride-sensitive molecule, and a DNA switch that is triggered by protons and functions as a pH sensor based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The anionic DNA interacts with scavenger receptors on cells, which causes cellular uptake of the DNA and entry in the endolysosomal pathway. Thus, the DNA nanodevice can be targeted to individual lysosomes in cells, where it has a half-life of 20 hours and is stable for at least 10 hours.

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  1. Nature Reviews Materials http://www.nature.com/natrevmats/

    Christine-Maria Horejs

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  1. Christine-Maria Horejs
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Correspondence to Christine-Maria Horejs.

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Horejs, CM. Lysosomes uncovered. Nat Rev Mater 4, 2 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-018-0073-0

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