Recent advance in the sensing of biomarker transcription factors.

Transcription factors (TFs) are sequence-specific DNA binding proteins functioned as the key regulators of cell fate and progress. The association between TFs and their binding sites gated the initiation of gene transcription, further influencing the expression of proteins. TFs are recognized as important biomarkers for the indication of various diseases including cancers, virus infections, and autoimmune diseases. However, the lack of efficient methods for the detection of TFs has hindered its application in clinical fields for a long period. Recently, the rapid development of sensing techniques has motivated the innovations in developing sensors for in vivo and in vitro detections of TFs. Exploiting antibodies, peptides, DNA, molecular tags, and fluorescent probes, the current sensors can realize the detection of TFs with improved sensitivity, simplified workflow, and reduced cost. In this critical review, we summarized the achievements and challenges in the sensing of TFs, and provided perspective in this field. • The recent achievements in the sensing of TFs were introduced. • The in vivo sensing of TFs were first summarized. • The strategies to recognize and transduce the binding of TFs were discussed in detail. • The challenges and opportunities in the development of TFs sensors were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]