Novel In Situ Hybridization Assay for Chromogenic Single-Molecule Detection of Human Papillomavirus E6/E7 mRNA

RNA plays a vital role in the physiological and pathological processes of cells and tissues. However, RNA in situ hybridization applications in clinical diagnostics are still limited to a few examples. In this study, we developed a novel in situ hybridization assay for human papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 mRNA by taking advantage of specific padlock probing and rolling circle amplification, combined with chromogenic readout. We designed padlock probes for 14 types of high-risk HPV and demonstrated that E6/E7 mRNA could be visualized in situ as discrete dot-like signals using bright-field microscopy. Overall, the results are consistent with the clinical diagnostics lab’s hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and p16 immunohistochemistry test results. Our work thus shows the potential applications of RNA in situ hybridization for clinical diagnostics using chromogenic single-molecule detection, offering an alternative technical option to the current commercially available kit based on branched DNA technology. IMPORTANCE In situ detection of viral mRNA expression in tissue samples is of great value for pathological diagnosis to access viral infection status. Unfortunately, conventional RNA in situ hybridization assays lack sensitivity and specificity for clinical diagnostic purposes. Currently, the commercially available branched DNA technology-based single-molecule RNA in situ detection method offers satisfactory results. Here, we present our padlock probe- and rolling circle amplification-based RNA in situ hybridization assay for detecting HPV E6/E7 mRNA expression in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections, providing an alternative yet robust method for viral RNA in situ visualization that is also applicable to different types of diseases.