Detection of Small Subsets of CD4+ Lymphocytes with SmartFlare Nanoprobes.

SmartFlare technology allows detection of mRNA in single living cells. We studied the possibility of using SmartFlare nanoprobes for detection of small subsets of CD4+ lymphocytes. It was found that SmartFlare allows detection of transcriptional master regulators of major CD4+T helper subsets in living human lymphocytes. Nanoprobes labeled with Cy5 fluorophore were better detected by flow cytometry than nanoprobes labeled with Cy3. Appropriate time of lymphocyte incubation with SmartFlare probes was 24 h.