Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. Several million people all over the world are estimated to suffer from severe morbidity as a consequence of schistosomiasis. The worm’s eggs, which cause the symptoms of schistosomiasis, are generally used to diagnose the disease. In this study, we employed egg-based systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (egg-SELEX) and identified a panel of ssDNA aptamers specifically binding to eggs derived from S. japonicum. Among these, two aptamers LC6 and LC15 exhibited strong binding to and specific recognition of S. japonicum eggs, but not eggs from Fasciolopsis buski, Enterobius, Ascaris or Clonorchis sinensis. Furthermore, tissue imaging results revealed that LC15 could recognize S. japonicum eggs laid in liver tissues with a detection ratio of 80.5%. Collectively, therefore, we obtained useful aptamers specifically recognizing S. japonicum eggs, which will facilitate the development of an effective tool for both schistosomiasis diagnosis and drug delivery.
Highlights
Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma
S. japonicum eggs were used as the target
Aptamers can be generated from a synthetic random library by an in vitro iterative selection process called systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX)
Summary
Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. It affects the liver, mesentery, and urogenital tract of infected individuals. Aptamers exhibit some unique features over antibodies, including low molecular weight, high stability, easy and controllable synthesis and modification for different diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, lack of immunogenicity, rapid tissue penetration, and nontoxicity[11]. Owing to these molecular properties, aptamers have been widely employed as a novel tool for diagnosis and treatment of disease. We obtained novel aptamers recognizing S. japonicum eggs, which will facilitate the development of an effective tool for both schistosomiasis diagnosis and drug delivery
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