Mild Acidosis-Directed Signal Amplification in Tumor Microenvironment via Spatioselective Recruitment of DNA Amplifiers

DNA biotechnology offers intriguing opportunities for amplification-based sensitive detection. However, spatiotemporally-controlled manipulation of signal amplification for in situ imaging of the tumor microenvironment remains an outstanding challenge. Here, we demonstrate a DNA-based strategy that can spatial-selectively amplify the acidic signal in the extracellular milieu of the tumor to achieve specific imaging with improved sensitivity. The strategy, termed mild acidosis-targeted amplification (MAT-amp), leverages the specific acidic microenvironment to engineer tumor cells with artificial DNA receptors through a pH (low) insertion peptide, which permits controlled recruitment of fluorescent amplifiers via a hybridization chain reaction. The acidosis-responsive amplification cascade enables significant fluorescence enhancement in tumors with a reduced background signal in normal tissues, leading to improved signal-to-background ratio. These results highlight the utility of MAT-amp for in situ imaging of the microenvironment characterized by pH disequilibrium.