{"title":"Hijacking a real time detection thermocycler for enzymology: Improvement of a fluorescent bulk assay monitoring helicase activity","authors":"Jean-Philippe Robin, Vincent Mocquet","doi":"10.1016/j.biochi.2025.02.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Helicases are enzymes involved in all aspects of nucleic acid synthesis, regulation and degradation. As a consequence, several methods were developed to monitor their enzymatic activity. In this report, we described an improvement of bulk fluorescent helicase assays to overcome their specific limitations (cost, health and safety regulations, etc.). Using a real time detection thermocycler to monitor the fluorescence in real-time, we managed to precisely control the initiation of the helicase reaction through temperature tuning. Therefore, we were able to demonstrate that this setup could provide a qualitative and a quantitative evaluation of the helicase domain of the UPF1 helicase (UPF1-HD) and that several fluorophores could be used in parallel during the same run.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":251,"journal":{"name":"Biochimie","volume":"238 ","pages":"Pages 98-106"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Biochimie","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300908425000379","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/2/20 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Helicases are enzymes involved in all aspects of nucleic acid synthesis, regulation and degradation. As a consequence, several methods were developed to monitor their enzymatic activity. In this report, we described an improvement of bulk fluorescent helicase assays to overcome their specific limitations (cost, health and safety regulations, etc.). Using a real time detection thermocycler to monitor the fluorescence in real-time, we managed to precisely control the initiation of the helicase reaction through temperature tuning. Therefore, we were able to demonstrate that this setup could provide a qualitative and a quantitative evaluation of the helicase domain of the UPF1 helicase (UPF1-HD) and that several fluorophores could be used in parallel during the same run.
期刊介绍:
Biochimie publishes original research articles, short communications, review articles, graphical reviews, mini-reviews, and hypotheses in the broad areas of biology, including biochemistry, enzymology, molecular and cell biology, metabolic regulation, genetics, immunology, microbiology, structural biology, genomics, proteomics, and molecular mechanisms of disease. Biochimie publishes exclusively in English.
Articles are subject to peer review, and must satisfy the requirements of originality, high scientific integrity and general interest to a broad range of readers. Submissions that are judged to be of sound scientific and technical quality but do not fully satisfy the requirements for publication in Biochimie may benefit from a transfer service to a more suitable journal within the same subject area.