核酸适配体技术及其在肿瘤诊断和治疗中的应用

Aptamer Technology and Its Applications in Tumor Diagnosis and Therapy

核酸适配体是一类通过指数富集的配体系统进化(SELEX)技术获得的具有独特三维构象的小分子RNA或单链DNA。核酸适配体能高亲和力和高特异性与靶点结合,同时具有自身分子质量小、免疫原性低、热/化学稳定性高、靶标分子范围广等特点,广泛应用于疾病诊断、治疗、生物传感器、生物标志物筛选、新药研发等领域。综述近年来核酸适配体在肿瘤诊断和治疗方面的应用,并对核酸适配体的临床研究现状、市场前景及面临挑战和发展趋势作简要分析。

Aptamers are a class of small-sized RNA or single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides with characteristic 3D structures that are developed by SELEX （systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment） technology. Functionally similar to antibodies, aptamers can recognize and bind to their cognate targets with high affinity and specificity. Moreover, aptamers have many unparalleled properties that are suitable for clinical applications and industrialization, such as smaller molecular weight, low immunogenicity, thermal stability, ease of conjugation or modification with different functional moieties, simple and low-cost chemical synthesis, and a wide range of potential biological targets. Currently, aptarner technology has been extensively used in various biomedical fields, including diagnostics, therapeutics, biosensors, biomarker screening, and drug discovery. In this article, the advances of aptamer technology and its applications in tumor diagnosis and therapy in the past few years were reviewed. Additionally, the clinical status, market prospect, current challenges and future directions of this rapidly advancing technology were briefly introduced.