Abstract
Arbovirus infections represent a global public health problem, and recent epidemics of yellow fever, dengue, and Zika have shown their critical importance in Brazil and worldwide. Whilst a major effort for vaccination programs has been in the spotlight, a number of aptamer approaches have been proposed in a complementary manner, offering the possibility of differential diagnosis between these arboviruses, which often present similar clinical symptoms, as well as the potential for a treatment option when no other alternative is available. In this review, we aim to provide a background on arbovirus, with a basic description of the main viral classes and the disease they cause, using the Brazilian context to build a comprehensive understanding of their role on a global scale. Subsequently, we offer an exhaustive revision of the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches offered by aptamers against arboviruses. We demonstrate how these promising reagents could help in the clinical diagnosis of this group of viruses, their use in a range of diagnostic formats, from biosensors to serological testing, and we give a short review on the potential approaches for novel aptamer-based antiviral treatment options against different arboviral diseases.
Highlights
This review aims to cover the applications of aptamers as one among other strategies to face the great challenge offered by arboviruses in terms of public health in Brazil and worldwide
We subsequently provide an overview of their epidemiological panel, with emphasis on the context they have in Brazil, some cellular and molecular aspects related to viral metabolism, followed by a brief consideration of aptamer theory and technology, before discussing their various applications in arboviruses
We have shown that aptamers can be selected against a variety of viral targets of arboviruses of clinical and public health relevance, from viral capsids to envelop to nucleoproteins and their fragments
Summary
This review aims to cover the applications of aptamers as one among other strategies to face the great challenge offered by arboviruses in terms of public health in Brazil and worldwide. The use of such, not so new, tools against targets of a wide variety of molecular and biological natures has been increasing, and aptamer technology is establishing itself as one of the most significant branches of biological nanoparticle science. We start by defining arboviruses and their significance to human health, focusing our discussion on the current problems related to differential diagnosis. We subsequently provide an overview of their epidemiological panel, with emphasis on the context they have in Brazil, some cellular and molecular aspects related to viral metabolism, followed by a brief consideration of aptamer theory and technology, before discussing their various applications in arboviruses
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