Abstract
RNA aptamers are becoming increasingly attractive due to their superior properties. This review discusses the early stages of aptamer research, the main developments in this area, and the latest technologies being developed. The review also highlights the advantages of RNA aptamers in comparison to antibodies, considering the great potential of RNA aptamers and their applications in the near future. In addition, it is shown how RNA aptamers can form endless 3-D structures, giving rise to various structural and functional possibilities. Special attention is paid to the Mango, Spinach and Broccoli fluorescent RNA aptamers, and the advantages of split RNA aptamers are discussed. The review focuses on the importance of creating a platform for the synthesis of RNA nanoparticles in vivo and examines yeast, namely Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a potential model organism for the production of RNA nanoparticles on a large scale.
Highlights
The branching structure of Phi29 3WJ is very useful for inserting different functional modules into each of the three helices. This scaffold facilitates the correct folding of other molecules merged in its structure. This scaffold is capable of carrying different molecules, including aptamers, micro RNA (miRNA), ribozymes, and even ligands that bind to cell receptors—each can be placed on a separate branch of the scaffold
Jaffrey et al have synthesized several derivatives of 4-hydroxybenzylidene imidazolinone (HBI), which acts as a fluorophore in GFP reporter assay
This modification of the aptamer structure led to our understanding that the correct structure of Spinach and the ability to interact with difluoro-4-hydroxybenzylidene imidazolinone (DFHBI) were determined by the presence of these metabolites, and the level of fluorescence depended on their concentration [92]
Summary
The first nucleic acid-based aptamers were concurrently produced in both Gold’s and Szostak’s laboratories in 1990 using SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) This technology depends on a library of random single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules, the sequences of which are flanked by identical sequences at both 30 and 50 ends [9]. Due to the high affinity and specificity of aptamers after many rounds of selection, in addition to their superior properties regarding shelf life, the ability to restore the 3D structure after denaturation, low molecular size, low immunotoxicity, short time of development, and, more importantly, the wide range of targets, aptamers could replace antibodies at any point in the foreseeable future [28,29]. Unlike antibodies, they can restore the 3-D structure [28]
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