Folding and Unfolding of Exogenous G-Rich Oligonucleotides in Live Cells by Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy of o-BMVC Fluorescent Probe

Guanine-rich oligonucleotides (GROs) can self-associate to form G-quadruplex (G4) structures that have been extensively studied in vitro. To translate the G4 study from in vitro to in live cells, here fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) of an o-BMVC fluorescent probe is applied to detect G4 structures and to study G4 dynamics in CL1-0 live cells. FLIM images of exogenous GROs show that the exogenous parallel G4 structures that are characterized by the o-BMVC decay times (>= 2.4 ns) are detected in the lysosomes of live cells in large quantities, but the exogenous nonparallel G4 structures are hardly detected in the cytoplasm of live cells. In addition, similar results are also observed for the incubation of their single-stranded GROs. In the study of G4 formation by ssHT23 and hairpin WT22, the analyzed binary image can be used to detect very small increases in the number of o-BMVC foci (decay time >= 2.4 ns) in the cytoplasm of live cells. However, exogenous ssCMA can form parallel G4 structures that are able to be detected in the lysosomes of live CL1-0 cells in large quantities. Moreover, the photon counts of the o-BMVC signals (decay time >= 2.4 ns) that are measured in the FLIM images are used to reveal the transition of the G4 formation of ssCMA and to estimate the unfolding rate of CMA G4s with the addition of anti-CMA into live cells for the first time. Hence, FLIM images of o-BMVC fluorescence hold great promise for the study of G4 dynamics in live cells.

Automated summary

In this study, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) was used to detect and study the dynamics of G-quadruplex (G4) structures in live cells. The results showed that G4 structures were abundant in the lysosomes of live cells, but not in the cytoplasm. The photon counts of the fluorescence signals in FLIM images were used to analyze the formation and unfolding of G4 structures.