Ultrasensitive turn-on detection of biomarker FEN1 using a CRISPR/Cas13a system integrated with a cleavage-ligation-activation cascade

Flap endonuclease I (FEN1) is a structure-specific nuclease that participates in DNA repair, and its overexpression is related to an increased risk of cancer. Currently, few FEN1 assays can meet the requirements for diagnostic purposes due to their high complexity, low specificity, and limited sensitivity. Herein, we developed a biosensor adopting synthetic biology strategy, called CLAIM (cleavage-ligation-activation-involved monitoring) for FEN1 quantification. CLAIMintegrates ligation-based T7 promoter repair, RNA generation, and CRISPR/Cas13a. FEN1 cleavages the DNA probe with a 5′-flap to generate a nick site that can be ligated to form a T7 promoter. Subsequent transcription produces abundant RNA that can activate Cas13a, generating a fluorescence signal due to the trans-cleavage of Cas13a to a fluorogenic reporter. CLAIM was able to detect FEN1 with low femtomolar sensitivity, and its accuracy was validated using samples of cancer and non-tumorigenic cell lines. Interestingly, we found that the utilization of thermostable T4 DNA ligase is critical to make the cascade of FEN1 cleavage, ligation, and transcription take place in one-pot. CLAIM was also repurposed for validating FEN1 inhibitors, indicating its potential in drug screening. This work provides a diagnostic tool for FEN1 analysis and opens up opportunities for FEN1 biosensing and related drug discovery.