First steps in the development of a liquid biopsy in situ hybridization protocol to determine circular RNA biomarkers in rat biofluids
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Topic overview
Abstract
Purpose
Epigenetic factors are involved in the pathogenesis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are epigenetic regulators amenable to biomarker profiling. Here, we aimed to develop a liquid biopsy protocol to detect pathognomonic circRNA changes in biofluids.
Methods
Our protocol is adapted from the existing BaseScope™ in situ hybridization technique. Rat biofluids were fixed in a gelatin-coated 96-well plate with formalin. Probes were designed to target circRNAs with significant fold change in nitrofen-induced CDH. FastRED fluorescence was assessed using a plate reader and confirmed with confocal microscopy. We tested maternal serum and amniotic fluid samples from control and nitrofen-treated rats.
Results
We detected circRNAs in rat serum and amniotic fluid from control and CDH (nitrofen-treated) rats using fluorescent readout. CircRNA signal was observed in fixed biofluids as fluorescent punctate foci under confocal laser scanning microscopy. This was confirmed by comparison to BaseScope™ lung tissue sections. Signal was concentration dependent and DNase resistant.
Conclusion
We successfully adapted BaseScope™ to detect circRNAs in rat biofluids: serum and amniotic fluid. We detected signal from probes targeted to circRNAs that are dysregulated in rat CDH. This work establishes the preliminary feasibility of circRNA detection in prenatal diagnostics.
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