Real-time imaging of VCAM-1 mRNA in TNF-α activated retinal microvascular endothelial cells using antisense hairpin-DNA functionalized gold nanoparticles

This manuscript describes a new nanotechnology for real-time imaging of an inflammatory biomarker in activated retinal microvascular endothelial cells (RMEC). Vascular inflammation is a common component of many retinopathies including diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We demonstrate that tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) induces vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) mRNA, a putative vascular inflammatory biomarker, in mouse RMEC. In addition, we have developed novel hairpin-DNA functionalized gold nanoparticles and used them to detect VCAM-1 mRNA in living, TNF-α activated MRMECs. Moreover, hAuNP had no effect on cell viability, indicating that hAuNPs are not acutely toxic to MRMECs. These findings may provide a framework for a new strategy to detect and monitor retinal inflammatory diseases.207