Visualization of Met dimerization and cell migration interference by aptamer terminated tripodal DNA coacervates

As a family member of receptor tyrosine kinases, mesenchymal-epithelial transition receptor (Met) promotes cell proliferation and tumor metastasis by binding to growth factors to form specific dimers. The sensitive and efficient detection of Met dimerization and monomerization is essential in medical diagnosis and intervention. Herein, we proposed a visual method for Met dimerization by using a single stranded DNA named Met-Apt-G4 (MA), which contains a Met aptamer and G-quadruplex precursor sequences. Upon Met dimerization, the close proximity of two symmetric MAs allows the formation of G-quadruplex, which can induce chromogenic reaction in the presence of hemin. Furthermore, we demonstrated the transformation of MA and palindromic sequences capped tripodal DNA assembly to DNA coacervates (MA-DNA-NC). MA-DNA-NC may exert repulsion forces after binding to Met on cellular membrane, which caused the inhibition of Met dimerization. Moreover, MA-DNA-NC can effectively inhibit cellular cytoskeleton reorganization, which may eventually interfere with cell migration. This strategy may pave a new pathway to develop DNA coacervates based regulation of cellular migration.