Molecular Technologies for Intracellular mRNA Imaging and Their Recent Biological Applications.
- 1State Key Laboratory of Chemo and Biosensing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
- 2School of Resource & Environment, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha 410082, China.
Abstract
Understanding the spatial and temporal behaviors of individual mRNA molecules is essential for elucidating gene expression regulation and cellular function. Imaging these processes within cells offers unique insights into transcriptional heterogeneity, mRNA transport, translation, and degradation dynamics. In this Review, we summarized the principal molecular technologies for intracellular mRNA imaging and tracking. These approaches are classified based on their compatibility with fixed cells versus live cells. Fixed-cell FISH-based methods provide spatial resolution and multiplex quantification. Live-cell systems, such as RNA stem-loop binding proteins, CRISPR/Cas platforms, fluorogenic RNA aptamers, fluorescent chemical labeling strategies, molecular beacons, and DNA circuits, enable real-time visualization of both endogenous and exogenous mRNA transcripts in live cells. We finally discuss the challenges and potential future directions for intracellular mRNA imaging. We anticipate that this Review will inspire the development of the next generation of mRNA imaging technologies in diverse biological applications.
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BibTeX
@article{xia2026molecular,
title = {{Molecular Technologies for Intracellular mRNA Imaging and Their Recent Biological Applications.}},
author = {Ke Xia and Xiangnan Wang and Zhenkun Wu and Xia Chu},
journal = {Chemical \& biomedical imaging},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1021/cbmi.5c00268},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953311},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Molecular Technologies for Intracellular mRNA Imaging and Their Recent Biological Applications.
AU - Ke Xia
AU - Xiangnan Wang
AU - Zhenkun Wu
AU - Xia Chu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/04
JO - Chemical & biomedical imaging
DO - 10.1021/cbmi.5c00268
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953311
AB - Understanding the spatial and temporal behaviors of individual mRNA molecules is essential for elucidating gene expression regulation and cellular function. Imaging these processes within cells offers unique insights into transcriptional heterogeneity, mRNA transport, translation, and degradation dynamics. In this Review, we summarized the principal molecular technologies for intracellular mRNA imaging and tracking. These approaches are classified based on their compatibility with fixed cells versus live cells. Fixed-cell FISH-based methods provide spatial resolution and multiplex quantification. Live-cell systems, such as RNA stem-loop binding proteins, CRISPR/Cas platforms, fluorogenic RNA aptamers, fluorescent chemical labeling strategies, molecular beacons, and DNA circuits, enable real-time visualization of both endogenous and exogenous mRNA transcripts in live cells. We finally discuss the challenges and potential future directions for intracellular mRNA imaging. We anticipate that this Review will inspire the development of the next generation of mRNA imaging technologies in diverse biological applications.
SN - 2832-3637
ER -