Multi-armed tetrahedral DNA probes for visualizing the whole-course of cell apoptosis by simultaneously fluorescence imaging intracellular cytochrome c and telomerase

Visualization of cell apoptosis can effectively assist early disease diagnosis, precisely reveal pathogenic mechanisms and continuously evaluate curative effect. However, monitoring partial stage of the apoptosis can not accurately or even mistakenly illustrate the apoptotic pathways. Herein, a novel tetrahedral DNA probe (TDNA-WCP) consists of a multi-armed tetrahedral DNA and three special sensing arms for simultaneously fluorescence imaging cytochrome c (Cyt c) and telomerase is proposed to visualize the early and late stages (i.e. whole-course) of cell apoptosis with highly temporal and spatial consistency. The TDNA-WCPs possessing good sensitivity, selectivity, stability and biocompatibility, show attractive performance on real-time, sensitive and specific visualization of intracellular Cyt c and telomerase, and have strong abilities to monitor the oxidative stress of cells and evaluate the drug efficacy, which can be a potential and interesting tool for studying molecular mechanisms of apoptosis regulation or screening the apoptosis-based drugs.