Imaging of Receptor Dimers in Zebrafish and Living Cells via Aptamer Recognition and Proximity-induced Hybridization Chain Reaction

摘要： On cell membrane surfaces, receptor protein dimers play a fundamental role in many signaling pathways, which are crucial for normal biological processes and cancer development. Efficient and sensitive analysis of receptor dimers in the native environment is highly desirable. Herein, we present a strategy for amplified imaging of receptor dimers in zebrafish and living cells, which relies on aptamer recognition and proximity-induced hybridization chain reaction. Taking advantages of specific aptamer recognition and enzyme-free signal amplification, this strategy is successfully applied to amplified visualize c-Met receptor dimers in the HGF-independent or -dependent manner. Therefore, the developed imaging strategy paves the way for further investigation of protein dimerization or oligomerization state of cell surface receptors and corresponding activation processes in zebrafish and living cells.