前列腺癌适配体的研究进展及其应用

寻找一种高特异性高灵敏度的方法对于前列腺癌的早期发现和及早干预,进而提高患者的生存率及生活质量十分重要。适配体(Aptamer)是由一段寡聚核苷酸链折叠形成的特定三维结构,能高亲和性、高特异性地靶向不同的分子。自上世纪90年代,许多研究者致力于适配体的研究,目前,适配体在药物递送、肿瘤诊疗等方面的研究已取得较大进展。本文将对前列腺癌适配体新近的研究进展及其应用进行综述,以期为将来进一步的研究和临床应用提供参考。     

综述: 适配子介导的siRNA转运

小分子干扰RNA(small interfering RNA,siRNA)因能快速抑制哺乳动物特定基因的表达而用于各种疾病的治疗,然而选择合适的载体将siRNA安全有效地转运进入靶细胞仍是制约siRNA应用于临床治疗的重要因素．越来越多的转运载体被开发出来,其中包括针对细胞表面蛋白的适配子(aptamer)．Aptamer是一种能与靶分子高特异性和高亲和结合的寡核苷酸,已经越来越多地用于疾病的诊断和治疗．Aptamer作为载体介导siRNA转运可提高治疗的靶向性并减少副作用,这将为siRNA应用于临床靶向治疗提供一种特异有效的途径．目前,已经发现几种aptamers可以介导siRNA的转运,如anti-PSMA aptamer,anti-HIV gp120 aptamer,anti-CD4 aptamer等．本文将综述aptamer介导siRNA转运的最新研究进展．     

Oncologist’s/haematologist’s view on the roles of pathologists for molecular targeted cancer therapy

In the past two decades there has been a tremendous increase in the understanding of the molecular basis of human malignancies. In a variety of neoplasms, specific molecular markers became part of disease classifications and are now routinely used to define specific entities. Molecular analyses discriminate prognostic groups, guide differential treatment strategies and identify targets for molecular defined cancer therapy. A battery of new drugs has been developed to specifically inhibit oncogenic pathways. For an increasing number of solid and haematological malignancies, the availability of molecular targeted drugs has fundamentally changed treatment algorithms. However, the diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic impact of selected molecular markers is still limited in many cases. After all, the success of a molecular targeted therapy is clearly determined by the significance of the targeted structure for the biology of cancer and the ability of the malignant cell to evade specific inhibition.     

Selection of DNA Aptamers against Glioblastoma Cells with High Affinity and Specificity

Background

Glioblastoma is the most common and most lethal form of brain tumor in human. Unfortunately, there is still no effective therapy to this fatal disease and the median survival is generally less than one year from the time of diagnosis. Discovery of ligands that can bind specifically to this type of tumor cells will be of great significance to develop early molecular imaging, targeted delivery and guided surgery methods to battle this type of brain tumor.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We discovered two target-specific aptamers named GBM128 and GBM131 against cultured human glioblastoma cell line U118-MG after 30 rounds selection by a method called cell-based Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (cell-SELEX). These two aptamers have high affinity and specificity against target glioblastoma cells. They neither recognize normal astraglial cells, nor do they recognize other normal and cancer cell lines tested. Clinical tissues were also tested and the results showed that these two aptamers can bind to different clinical glioma tissues but not normal brain tissues. More importantly, binding affinity and selectivity of these two aptamers were retained in complicated biological environment.

Conclusion/Significance

The selected aptamers could be used to identify specific glioblastoma biomarkers. Methods of molecular imaging, targeted drug delivery, ligand guided surgery can be further developed based on these ligands for early detection, targeted therapy, and guided surgery of glioblastoma leading to effective treatment of glioblastoma.     

Advancing Aptamers as Molecular Probes for Cancer Theranostic Applications—The Role of Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Theranostics cover emerging technologies for cell biomarking for disease diagnosis and targeted introduction of drug ingredients to specific malignant sites. Theranostics development has become a significant biomedical research endeavor for effective diagnosis and treatment of diseases, especially cancer. An efficient biomarking and targeted delivery strategy for theranostic applications requires effective molecular coupling of binding ligands with high affinities to specific receptors on the cancer cell surface. Bioaffinity offers a unique mechanism to bind specific target and receptor molecules from a range of non‐targets. The binding efficacy depends on the specificity of the affinity ligand toward the target molecule even at low concentrations. Aptamers are fragments of genetic materials, peptides, or oligonucleotides which possess enhanced specificity in targeting desired cell surface receptor molecules. Aptamer–target binding results from several inter‐molecular interactions including hydrogen bond formation, aromatic stacking of flat moieties, hydrophobic interaction, electrostatic, and van der Waals interactions. Advancements in Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) assay has created the opportunity to artificially generate aptamers that specifically bind to desired cancer and tumor surface receptors with high affinities. This article discusses the potential application of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to advance aptamer‐mediated receptor targeting in targeted cancer therapy. MD simulation offers real‐time analysis of the molecular drivers of the aptamer‐receptor binding and generate optimal receptor binding conditions for theranostic applications. The article also provides an overview of different cancer types with focus on receptor biomarking and targeted treatment approaches, conventional molecular probes, and aptamers that have been explored for cancer cells targeting.     

基于铁死亡的抗结直肠癌药物的应用

结直肠癌（colorectal cancer，CRC）是癌症相关死亡的第二大主要原因，且患者趋于年轻化，化疗、免疫治疗及靶向治疗等药物治疗虽然取得进展，但因药物的毒性、耐药及价格昂贵严重影响CRC的综合治疗效果，因此寻求新的、更敏感有效的药物和药物靶点是目前研究的热点。铁死亡作为一种近期发现的细胞死亡调节方式，它与癌症药物耐药性、敏感性密切相关，激活铁死亡成为克服传统癌症治疗耐药机制的潜在策略，诱导铁死亡的药物研发应用有望成为治疗CRC的有效手段。本文综述在CRC中铁死亡相关代谢途径药物研究的最新进展，以便整体认识基于铁死亡的药物在CRC中作用的具体机制，充分发掘其治疗潜力，为CRC的诊疗和耐药性的解决提供新的思路。     

适配体在肿瘤治疗方面的应用

适配体（aptamer）是一种可通过指数富集配体系统进化（systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment, SELEX）技术获得的寡聚核苷酸序列,在药物递送、肿瘤诊断及治疗方面有良好的应用前景。本文从适配体的性质、制备等方面出发,简要综述了其作为载体、靶向因子和分子探针在肿瘤治疗中的作用的研究进展。     

Aptamer-targeted delivery of Bcl-xL shRNA using alkyl modified PAMAM dendrimers into lung cancer cells

RNAi-based gene therapy has been recently considered as a promising approach against cancer. Targeted delivery of drug, gene or therapeutic RNAi-based systems to tumor cells is one of the important issues in order to reduce side effects on normal cells. Several strategies have been developed to improve the safety and selectivity of cancer treatments including antibodies, peptides and recently aptamers with various attractive characteristics including higher target specificity, affinity and reduced toxicity. Here we described a novel targeted delivery platform comprising modified PAMAM with 10-bromodecanoic acid (10C) and 10C-PEG for improvement of transfection efficiency, AS1411 aptamer for targeting nucleolin ligand on target cancer cells and shRNA plasmid for specific knockdown of Bcl-xL protein. Modified vector could significantly improve the transfection efficiency even after covalent or non-covalent aptamer binding compared to the non-targeted vector in A549 cells. The results of gene silencing and apoptosis assay indicated that our targeted shRNA delivery system could efficiently down-regulate the Bcl-xL expression up to 25% and induce 14% late apoptosis in target cancer cells with strong cell selectivity. This study proposed a novel targeted non-viral system for shRNA-mediated gene-silencing in cancer cells.     

Selection of DNA aptamers for breast cancer

A method of selection of DNA aptamers to breast tumor tissue based on the use of postoperative material has been developed. Breast cancer tissues were used as the positive target; the negative targets included benign tumor tissue, adjacent healthy tissues, breast tissues from mastopathy patients, and also tissues of other types of malignant tumors. During selection a pool of DNA aptamers demonstrating selective binding to breast cancer cells and tissues and insignificant binding to breast benign tissues has been obtained. These DNA aptamers can be used for identification of protein markers, breast cancer diagnostics, and targeted delivery of anticancer drugs.     

Aptamer-based diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in animals: Current potential and challenges

Fast and precise diagnosis of infectious and non-infectious animal diseases and their targeted treatments are of utmost importance for their clinical management. The existing biochemical, serological and molecular methods of disease diagnosis need improvement in their specificity, sensitivity and cost and, are generally not amenable for being used as points-of-care (POC) device. Further, with dramatic changes in environment and farm management practices, one should also arm ourselves and prepare for emerging and re-emerging animal diseases such as cancer, prion diseases, COVID-19, influenza etc. Aptamer – oligonucleotide or short peptides that can specifically bind to target molecules – have increasingly become popular in developing biosensors for sensitive detection of analytes, pathogens (bacteria, virus, fungus, prions), drug residues, toxins and, cancerous cells. They have also been proven successful in the cellular delivery of drugs and targeted therapy of infectious diseases and physiological disorders. However, the in vivo application of aptamer-mediated biosensing and therapy in animals has been limited. This paper reviews the existing reports on the application of aptamer-based biosensors and targeted therapy in animals. It also dissects the various modifications to aptamers that were found to be successful in in vivo application of the aptamers in diagnostics and therapeutics. Finally, it also highlights major challenges and future directions in the application of aptamers in the field of veterinary medicine.     

Application of aptamers in diagnostics,drug-delivery and imaging

Aptamers are small, single-stranded oligonucleotides (DNA or RNA) that bind to their target with high specificity and affinity. Although aptamers are analogous to antibodies for a wide range of target recognition and variety of applications, they have significant advantages over antibodies. Since aptamers have recently emerged as a class of biomolecules with an application in a wide array of fields, we need to summarize the latest developments herein. In this review we will discuss about the latest developments in using aptamers in diagnostics, drug delivery and imaging. We begin with diagnostics, discussing the application of aptamers for the detection of infective agents itself, antigens/toxins (bacteria), biomarkers (cancer), or a combination. The ease of conjugation and labelling of aptamers makes them a potential tool for diagnostics. Also, due to the reduced off-target effects of aptamers, their use as a potential drug delivery tool is emerging rapidly. Hence, we discuss their use in targeted delivery in conjugation with siRNAs, nanoparticles, liposomes, drugs and antibodies. Finally, we discuss about the conjugation strategies applicable for RNA and DNA aptamers for imaging. Their stability and self-assembly after heating makes them superior over protein-based binding molecules in terms of labelling and conjugation strategies.     

Genetic and molecular origins of colorectal Cancer among the Iranians: an update

Background

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one the leading causes of cancer related deaths among Iranians. Despite the various progresses in new therapeutic methods, it has still a low rate of survival. This high ratio of mortality is mainly related to the late diagnosis, in which the patients refer for treatment in advanced stages of tumor.

Main body

colorectal cancer progression is largely associated with molecular and genetic bases. Although Iran has a high ratio of CRC mortality, there is not an efficient genetic panel for detection and prognosis. Therefore, it is critical to introduce new diagnostic markers with ability to detect in early stages.

Conclusion

Present review summarizes all of the genetic and epigenetic factors which are reported in CRC until now among the Iranian patients to pave the way of incorporation of new ethnic specific markers into the clinical practice and development of new targeted therapeutic methods.

     

Novel aptamer-nanoparticle bioconjugates enhances delivery of anticancer drug to MUC1-positive cancer cells in vitro

MUC1 protein is an attractive target for anticancer drug delivery owing to its overexpression in most adenocarcinomas. In this study, a reported MUC1 protein aptamer is exploited as the targeting agent of a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system. Paclitaxel (PTX) loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic-acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles were formulated by an emulsion/evaporation method, and MUC1 aptamers (Apt) were conjugated to the particle surface through a DNA spacer. The aptamer conjugated nanoparticles (Apt-NPs) are about 225.3 nm in size with a stable in vitro drug release profile. Using MCF-7 breast cancer cell as a MUC1-overexpressing model, the MUC1 aptamer increased the uptake of nanoparticles into the target cells as measured by flow cytometry. Moreover, the PTX loaded Apt-NPs enhanced in vitro drug delivery and cytotoxicity to MUC1(+) cancer cells, as compared with non-targeted nanoparticles that lack the MUC1 aptamer (P<0.01). The behavior of this novel aptamer-nanoparticle bioconjugates suggests that MUC1 aptamers may have application potential in targeted drug delivery towards MUC1-overexpressing tumors.     

Trends in the Design and Development of Specific Aptamers Against Peptides and Proteins

Aptamers are single stranded oligonucleotides, comparable to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in selectivity and affinity and have significant strategic properties in design, development and applications more than mAbs. Ease of design and development, simple chemical modification and the attachment of functional groups, easily handling and more adaptability with analytical methods, small size and adaptation with nanostructures are the valuable characteristics of aptamers in comparison to large protein based ligands. Among a broad range of targets that their specific aptamers developed, proteins and peptides have significant position according to the number of related studies performed so far. Since proteins control many of important physiological and pathological incidents in the living organisms, particularly human beings and because of the benefits of aptamers in clinical and analytical applications, aptamer related technologies in the field of proteins and peptides are under progress, exclusively. Currently, there is only one FDA approved therapeutic aptamer in the pharmaceutical market, which is specific to vascular endothelial growth factor and is prescribed for age related macular degenerative disease. Additionally, there are several aptamers in the different phases of clinical trials. Almost all of these aptamers are specific to clinically important peptide or protein targets. In addition, the application of protein specific aptamers in the design and development of targeted drug delivery systems and diagnostic biosensors is another intersting field of aptamer technology. In this review, significant efforts related to development and applications of aptamer technologies in proteins and peptides sciences were considered to emphasis on the importance of aptamers in medicinal and clinical applications.     

SELEX技术在胰腺癌分子诊断及靶向治疗中应用的研究进展

胰腺癌由于起病隐匿,早期诊断率较低,临床治疗效果差,是目前预后最差的恶性肿瘤之一。目前,临床上尚缺乏有效的非创伤早期筛查胰腺癌的手段,因而胰腺癌的早期诊断和治疗显得尤为重要。近年来,指数富集配基的系统进化(SELEX)技术以其在其他疾病中所表现的应用价值为疾病的诊治提供了一个新的途径。对于缺乏有效确诊手段,发病隐匿且病死率高的胰腺癌而言,SELEX技术基于胰腺癌发病的分子机制,可以筛选出特异结合于胰腺癌分子靶标的适配体,对筛选所得适配体进一步化学修饰,可以实现分子水平成像及靶向治疗,进而达到胰腺癌早期诊治的目的,具有重要的临床意义。本文就SELEX技术在胰腺癌分子诊断及靶向治疗中的应用研究进展进行了综述。     

Nanodrug Delivery Systems: A Promising Technology for Detection,Diagnosis, and Treatment of Cancer

Nanotechnology has enabled the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic strategies, such as advances in targeted drug delivery systems, versatile molecular imaging modalities, stimulus responsive components for fabrication, and potential theranostic agents in cancer therapy. Nanoparticle modifications such as conjugation with polyethylene glycol have been used to increase the duration of nanoparticles in blood circulation and reduce renal clearance rates. Such modifications to nanoparticle fabrication are the initial steps toward clinical translation of nanoparticles. Additionally, the development of targeted drug delivery systems has substantially contributed to the therapeutic efficacy of anti-cancer drugs and cancer gene therapies compared with nontargeted conventional delivery systems. Although multifunctional nanoparticles offer numerous advantages, their complex nature imparts challenges in reproducibility and concerns of toxicity. A thorough understanding of the biological behavior of nanoparticle systems is strongly warranted prior to testing such systems in a clinical setting. Translation of novel nanodrug delivery systems from the bench to the bedside will require a collective approach. The present review focuses on recent research efforts citing relevant examples of advanced nanodrug delivery and imaging systems developed for cancer therapy. Additionally, this review highlights the newest technologies such as microfluidics and biomimetics that can aid in the development and speedy translation of nanodrug delivery systems to the clinic.     

应用双向热循环消减SELEX技术筛选肺癌血清核酸适配体

肺癌是发病率和死亡率较高的恶性肿瘤。现阶段,用于肺癌早期诊断的血清肿瘤标志物因其特异性与敏感性均较低,严重影响肺癌的临床诊断和治疗。本文用双向热循环消减指数富集的配基进化(systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment, SELEX)技术,筛选肺癌和非癌血清标志物的核酸适配体,建立肺癌的检测方法,提高诊断和治疗效率。实验用环氧基琼脂磁珠为筛选介质,以非癌混合血清、肺癌混合血清作为双向靶标。应用热循环消减SELEX技术,经19轮筛选分别获得非癌和肺癌血清的特异性核酸适配体。通过高通量测序,得到 40条非癌核酸适配体序列和 41条肺癌核酸适配体序列。从肺癌与非癌血清特异性核酸适配体序列中分别挑选出高丰度的 4条序列,合成后制成检测试剂,经临床血清验证,阳性率为 90%。该检测方法检测灵敏度高,为肺癌的早期诊断和治疗提供了新的分子识别元件。     

综述与专论: 核酸适配体在分子医学中的应用

分子医学着眼于从疾病的分子层面出发,为个性化精准诊疗提供解决方案。然而,在众多疾病的诊疗中由于缺乏有力的分子识别工具,目前从分子水平上理解和研究疾病仍受到制约。核酸适配体是通过指数富集的配体系统进化（SELEX）技术在体外筛选得到的单链寡核苷酸,具有高选择性、高亲和力、易细胞内化、良好的组织渗透和快速的组织积累能力。近年来,由于其易合成、成本低、稳定性高且免疫原性低,核酸适配体作为分子工具应用于疾病的诊疗一体化受到广泛关注。本综述围绕分子医学中的核酸适配体,讨论了核酸适配体在疾病诊断中的应用,包括基于核酸适配体的肿瘤标志物发现、液体活检、分子成像。介绍了核酸适配体在癌症治疗中的应用包括基于核酸适配体的抑制剂、核酸适配体药物偶联物、纳米药物和核酸适配体介导的免疫治疗。最后对核酸适配体在临床诊疗和产业化面临的问题进行了讨论,包括基于应用场景的筛选方法、核酸适配体与靶标复合物结构、亲和力的机制以及核酸适配体在血液循环中的稳定性等方面。     

Synthesis of novel cyclic NGR/RGD peptide analogs via on resin click chemistry

Targeted drug deliveries as well as high resolution imaging of cancerous tissues and organs via specific cancer cell markers have become important in chemotherapeutic interventions of cancer treatment. Short peptides such as RGD and NGR are showing promising results for targeted drug delivery and in vivo imaging. We have applied on resin Huisgen's 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to synthesize new cyclic RGD and NGR peptide analogs. Preliminary binding assays of these new analogs by fluorescence polarization indicates specific binding to purified CD13 (Aminopeptidase N) and cell lysates from MCF-7 and SKOV-3 cancer cell lines.     

Aptamers against extracellular targets for in vivo applications

Oligonucleotides are multifunctional molecules which can interfere with gene expression by different mechanism such as antisense, RNA interference, ribozymes, etc. For most in vivo diagnostic and therapeutic applications, oligonucleotides need to be delivered to the intracellular compartment of a specific organ, a difficult task which limits considerably their use. However, aptamer oligonucleotides which target extracellular markers obviate this problem. Aptamers are short oligonucleotides (<100 bases) selected from large combinatorial pools of sequences for their capacity to bind to many types of different targets, ranging from small molecules (amino acids, antibiotics...) to proteins or nucleic acid structures. Aptamers present the same high specificity and affinity for their targets as antibodies. In addition to efficient binding, aptamers have been shown in many cases to display an inhibitory activity on their targets. Moreover, they seem to lack immunogenicity and can be chemically modified in order to improve their stability against nucleases or extend their blood circulation time, two properties which are particularly useful for in vivo applications. Recently, aptamers have been selected against whole living cells, opening a new avenue which presents three major advantages 1) direct selection without prior purification of the targets; 2) conservation of membrane proteins in their native conformation similar to the in vivo conditions and 3) identification of (new) targets for a specific phenotype. Many aptamers are now being developed against biomedical relevant extracellular targets: membrane receptor proteins, hormones, neuropeptides, coagulation factors... Among them, one aptamer that inhibits the human VEGF165 has recently been approved by FDA for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Here we discuss the recent developments of aptamers against extracellular targets for in vivo therapy and as tools for diagnosis using molecular imaging.