Integration of Quanterix SR-X with DestiNA Technology for Direct Detection of Unlabelled Nucleic Acids (Single Nucleobase Labelling)

Venue: Polo Ferrari 1, via Sommarive nr. 5, Povo (Tn) - Room A107
Time: 2.00 p.m.

Speaker:

• Prof. Juan Jose Diaz Mochon, DestiNA and University of Granada

Abstract:
A nucleic acid test, often called a "NAT” is a molecular technique used to identify genetic variants in biological samples. Testing for human diseases and illnesses, drug performance and toxicities, pathogenic bacteria and viruses has created an important, multi-billion and rapidly expanding global market. NAT is increasingly being used in the cost challenged medical health systems, animal health, food safety and pharmaceutical industries. The limitation to its use in clinical diagnosis has been cost, testing errors, and clinician conservatism. Single Nucleobase Labelling (SNL) technology developed by DestiNA is unique and distinguishable from ALL existing enzymatic methods of nucleic acid analysis. It can be used to identify any known target nucleic acid sequences, including insertion and deletion mutations, as well as non-mutated nucleic acid sequences. This gives the technology a unique, powerful position versus current detection methods [Diaz‐Mochon et al., Angewandte Chemie, 2010, 49, 1809–1812. Pernagallo et al., Sensors, 2012, 12, 8100-8111].In this study, DestiNA technology is combined with SR-X technology (Quanterix) for developing a novel tool for early detection and quantification of miRNA-122 involved in human liver injury. Recently, researchers have demonstrated that miRNA122 is an early and more sensitive indicator of drug-induced liver injury than the widely used biomarkers such as alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase [Wang et al., PNAS, 2009, 106, 4402–4407]. Moreover, microRNA-122 is used in vitro, to assess the cellular toxicity of new drugs and, the development of a rapid test for detecting microRNA-122 would aid patient care and drug toxicity screening. Here, we report a PCR-free and label-free detection method that has a limit of detection which enable the direct detection of microRNA-122 by combining DestiNA and SR-X technologies, thereby, in principle, demonstrating the exciting prospect of rapid and accurate profiling of any miRNA related to diseases and toxicology. The integration of Quanterix platform with DestiNA reagents promises to transform and expand routine clinical diagnostic microRNA-based assays with benefits in terms of result consistency, time, cost, and ease of use [Rissin DM et al., PLoS ONE, 2017, 12(7): e0179669].