In vitro selection and characterization of DNA aptamers recognizing chloramphenicol

Chloramphenicol (Cam), although an effective antibiotic, has lost favour due to some fatal side effects. Thus there is an urgent need for rapid and sensitive methods to detect residues in food, feed and environment. We engineered DNA aptamers that recognize Cam as their target, by conducting in vitro selections. Aptamers are nucleic acid recognition elements that are highly specific and sensitive towards their targets and can be synthetically produced in an animal-friendly manner, making them ethical innovative alternatives to antibodies. None of the isolated aptamers in this study shared sequence homology or structural similarities with each other, indicating that specific Cam recognition could be achieved by various DNA sequences under the selection conditions used. Analyzing the binding affinities of the sequences, demonstrated that dissociation constants (K_d) in the extremely low micromolar range, which were lower than those previously reported for Cam-specific RNA aptamers, were achieved. The two best aptamers had G rich (>35%) nucleotide regions, an attribute distinguishing them from the rest and apparently responsible for their high selectivity and affinity (K_d ∼ 0.8 and 1 μM respectively). These aptamers open up possibilities to allow easy detection of Cam via aptamer-based biosensors.     

Selection-by-function: efficient enrichment of cathepsin E inhibitors from a DNA library

A method for efficient enrichment of protease inhibitors out of a DNA library was developed by introducing SF-link technology. A two-step selection strategy was designed consisting of the initial enrichment of aptamers based on binding function while the second enrichment step was based on the inhibitory activity to a protease, cathepsin E (CE). The latter was constructed by covalently linking of a biotinylated peptide substrate to each of the ssDNA molecule contained in the preliminarily selected DNA library, generating 'SF-link'. Gradual enrichment of inhibitory DNAs was attained in the course of selection. One molecule, SFR-6-3, showed an IC(50) of around 30 nM, a K(d) of around 15 nM and high selectivity for CE. Sequence and structure analysis revealed a C-rich sequence without any guanine and possibly an i-motif structure, which must be novel to be found in in vitro-selected aptamers. SF-link technology, which is novel as the screening technology, provided a remarkable enrichment of specific protease inhibitors and has a potential to be further developed.     

Methods for selection of aptamers to protein targets

Aptamers are synthetic single-stranded RNA or DNA molecules capable of specific binding to other target molecules. In this review, the main aptamer properties are considered and methods for selection of aptamers against various protein targets are described. Special attention is given to the methods for directed selection of aptamers, which allow one to obtain ligands with specified properties.     

Peptide aptamers:The versatile role of specific protein function inhibitors in plant biotechnology

In recent years,peptide aptamers have emerged as novel molecular tools that have attracted the attention of researchers in various fields of basic and applied science,ranging from medicine to analytical chemistry.These artificial short peptides are able to specifically bind,track,and inhibit a given target molecule with high affinity,even molecules with poor immunogenicity or high toxicity,and represent a remarkable alternative to antibodies in many different applications.Their use is on the rise,driven mainly by the medical and pharmaceutical sector.Here we discuss the enormous potential of peptide aptamers in both basic and applied aspects of plant biotechnology and food safety.The different peptide aptamer selection methods available both in vivo and in vitro are introduced,and the most important possible applications in plant biotechnology are illustrated.In particular,we discuss the generation of broadbased virus resistance in crops, "reverse genetics" and aptasensors in bioassays for detecting contaminations in food and feed.Furthermore,we suggest an alternative to the transfer of peptide aptamers into plant cells via genetic transformation,based on the use of cell-penetrating peptides that overcome the limits imposed by both crop transformation and Genetically Modified Organism commercialization.     

Plasma proteomic signature of age in healthy humans

To characterize the proteomic signature of chronological age, 1,301 proteins were measured in plasma using the SOMAscan assay (SomaLogic, Boulder, CO, USA) in a population of 240 healthy men and women, 22–93 years old, who were disease‐ and treatment‐free and had no physical and cognitive impairment. Using a p ≤ 3.83 × 10^?5 significance threshold, 197 proteins were positively associated, and 20 proteins were negatively associated with age. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) had the strongest, positive association with age (GDF15; 0.018 ± 0.001, p = 7.49 × 10^?56). In our sample, GDF15 was not associated with other cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol or inflammatory markers. The functional pathways enriched in the 217 age‐associated proteins included blood coagulation, chemokine and inflammatory pathways, axon guidance, peptidase activity, and apoptosis. Using elastic net regression models, we created a proteomic signature of age based on relative concentrations of 76 proteins that highly correlated with chronological age (r = 0.94). The generalizability of our findings needs replication in an independent cohort.     

随机单链DNA文库SELEX筛选寡核苷酸适配子方法的建立

指数富集配基的系统进化(SELEX)技术是一种新的组合化学技术.体外构建了一个长度为81 nt、含有35个随机序列的单链DNA(ssDNA)文库,优化了ssDNA文库扩增为双链DNA (dsDNA)文库的PCR反应条件.通过对比不对称PCR和生物素-链亲和素磁珠分离方法制备ssDNA文库的效果,确定了以生物素-链亲和素磁珠分离方法制备ssDNA.由于脱氧核糖核酸的疏水性导致ssDNA文库与硝酸纤维素滤膜的结合背景过高,因此选择以微孔板为介质,分离与靶蛋白结合的适配子.经过9轮循环筛选,随机ssDNA文库与丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)核心蛋白(C蛋白)的结合率从0.5%上升到32.5%.     

Idiosyncratically tuned switching behavior of riboswitch aptamer domains revealed by comparative small-angle X-ray scattering analysis

Riboswitches are structured mRNA elements that regulate gene expression upon binding specific cellular metabolites. It is thought that the highly conserved metabolite-binding domains of riboswitches undergo conformational change upon binding their cognate ligands. To investigate the generality of such a mechanism, we employed small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). We probed the nature of the global metabolite-induced response of the metabolite-binding domains of four different riboswitches that bind, respectively, thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), flavin mononucleotide (FMN), lysine, and S-adenosyl methionine (SAM). We find that each RNA is unique in its global structural response to metabolite. Whereas some RNAs exhibit distinct free and bound conformations, others are globally insensitive to the presence of metabolite. Thus, a global conformational change of the metabolite-binding domain is not a requirement for riboswitch function. It is possible that the range of behaviors observed by SAXS, rather than being a biophysical idiosyncrasy, reflects adaptation of riboswitches to the regulatory requirements of their individual genomic context.     

First report of in vitro selection of RNA aptamers targeted to recombinant Loxosceles laeta spider toxins

Background

Loxoscelism is the envenomation caused by the bite of Loxosceles spp. spiders. It entails severe necrotizing skin lesions, sometimes accompanied by systemic reactions and even death. There are no diagnostic means and treatment is mostly palliative. The main toxin, found in several isoforms in the venom, is sphingomyelinase D (SMD), a phospholipase that has been used to generate antibodies intended for medical applications. Nucleic acid aptamers are a promising alternative to antibodies. Aptamers may be isolated from a combinatorial mixture of oligonucleotides by iterative selection of those that bind to the target. In this work, two Loxosceles laeta SMD isoforms, Ll1 and Ll2, were produced in bacteria and used as targets with the aim of identifying RNA aptamers that inhibit sphingomyelinase activity.

Results

Six RNA aptamers capable of eliciting partial but statistically significant inhibitions of the sphingomyelinase activity of recombinant SMD-Ll1 and SMD-Ll2 were obtained: four aptamers exert ~17% inhibition of SMD-Ll1, while two aptamers result in ~25% inhibition of SMD-Ll2 and ~18% cross inhibition of SMD-Ll1.

Conclusions

This work is the first attempt to obtain aptamers with therapeutic and diagnostic potential for loxoscelism and provides an initial platform to undertake the development of novel anti Loxosceles venom agents.     

Ligand binding by the tandem glycine riboswitch depends on aptamer dimerization but not double ligand occupancy

The glycine riboswitch predominantly exists as a tandem structure, with two adjacent, homologous ligand-binding domains (aptamers), followed by a single expression platform. The recent identification of a leader helix, the inclusion of which eliminates cooperativity between the aptamers, has reopened the debate over the purpose of the tandem structure of the glycine riboswitch. An equilibrium dialysis-based assay was combined with binding-site mutations to monitor glycine binding in each ligand-binding site independently to understand the role of each aptamer in glycine binding and riboswitch tertiary interactions. A series of mutations disrupting the dimer interface was used to probe how dimerization impacts ligand binding by the tandem glycine riboswitch. While the wild-type tandem riboswitch binds two glycine equivalents, one for each aptamer, both individual aptamers are capable of binding glycine when the other aptamer is unoccupied. Intriguingly, glycine binding by aptamer-1 is more sensitive to dimerization than glycine binding by aptamer-2 in the context of the tandem riboswitch. However, monomeric aptamer-2 shows dramatically weakened glycine-binding affinity. In addition, dimerization of the two aptamers in trans is dependent on glycine binding in at least one aptamer. We propose a revised model for tandem riboswitch function that is consistent with these results, wherein ligand binding in aptamer-1 is linked to aptamer dimerization and stabilizes the P1 stem of aptamer-2, which controls the expression platform.