Understanding the Biomedical Effects of the Self-Assembled Tetrahedral DNA Nanostructure on Living Cells

Recently, much attention has been paid to DNA again due to the successful synthesis of DNA-based nanostructures that can enter cells via endocytosis and thus have great potential in biomedical fields. However, the impacts of DNA nanostructures on life activities of a living cell are unknown. Herein, the promotion effect of tetrahedral DNA nanostructure (TDN) on cell growth and the underlying molecular mechanisms are reported. Upon exposure to TDN, cell proliferation is significantly enhanced, accompanied by up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase like-1 gene, changes in cell cycle distribution, and up-regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling-related proteins (β-catenin, Lef 1 and cyclin D). In contrast, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) shows no such functions. Furthermore, TDN is able to reverse the inhibition effect of DKK1, a specific inhibitor for Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Hence, the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is the target for TDN to promote cell proliferation. The findings allow TDN to be a novel functional nanomaterial that has great potential in tissue repair and regeneration medicine.