Optical Nanobiosensor for Monitoring an Apoptotic Signaling Process in a Single Living Cell Following Photodynamic Therapy
Optical nanobiosensors have enabled bioanalytical measurements to be undertaken within volumes as small as that of single biological cells. In this work, we use nanobiosensors to monitor a molecular signaling process, i.e., caspase-7 activation, following photodynamic therapy (PDT)
induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells (MCF-7). PDT induces the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis which triggers cytochrome c release, activation of caspases-9, -8 and -7 and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (Parp) protein. Caspase-7 is an important apoptosis-related cysteine
protease involved in the activation cascade of caspases and in the proteolytic cleavage of Parp protein. Caspase-7 was detected and identified intracellularly using optical nanobiosensors. Our results show the detection of caspase-7 in single living MCF-cells which in essence typifies the
apoptotic event induced by a PDT drug. This work, in principle, demonstrates the minimally invasive capability of optical nanobiosensors to measure important signaling molecules and events in pathways at the single cell level.
Keywords: APOPTOSIS; OPTICAL NANOBIOSENSOR; SINGLE CELL ANALYSIS
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 December 2005
- Journal for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (JNN) is an international and multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal with a wide-ranging coverage, consolidating research activities in all areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology into a single and unique reference source. JNN is the first cross-disciplinary journal to publish original full research articles, rapid communications of important new scientific and technological findings, timely state-of-the-art reviews with author's photo and short biography, and current research news encompassing the fundamental and applied research in all disciplines of science, engineering and medicine.
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