Aptamers in the Treatment of Bacterial Infections: Problems and Prospects

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Abstract

Aptamers are short single-stranded oligonucleotides which are selected via targeted chemical evolution in vitro to bind a molecular target of interest. The aptamer selection technology is designated as SELEX (Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment). SELEX enables isolation of oligonucleotide aptamers binding a wide range of targets of interest with little respect for their nature and molecular weight. A number of applications of aptamer selection were developed ranging from biosensor technologies to antitumor drug discovery. First aptamer-based pharmaceutical (Macugen) was approved by FDA for clinical use in 2004, and since then more than ten aptamer-based drugs undergo various phases of clinical trials. From the medicinal chemist’s point of view, aptamers represent a new class of molecules suitable for the development of new therapeutics. Due to the stability, relative synthesis simplicity, and development of advanced strategies of target specific molecular selection, aptamers attract increased attention of drug discovery community. Difficulties of the development of next-generation antibiotics basing on the conventional basis of combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening have also amplified the interest to aptamer-based therapeutic candidates. The present article reviews the investigations focused on the development of antibacterial aptamers and discusses the potential and current limitations of the use of this type of therapeutic molecules.

About the authors

N. A. Zeninskaya

State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Email: nataliazeninskaya@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5388-292X
Obolensk Russian Federation

A. V. Kolesnikov

State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology;
Immunological Engineering Institution

Email: pfu2000@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8108-0265

Obolensk;

Lyubuchany

Russian Federation

A. K. Ryabko

State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Email: ryabko_alena@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7478-909X
Obolensk Russian Federation

I. G. Shemyakin

State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Email: shemyakin@obolensk.org
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9667-1674
Obolensk Russian Federation

I. A. Dyatlov

State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Author for correspondence.
Email: dyatlov@obolensk.org
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1078-4585
Obolensk

A. V. Kozyr

State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Email: avkozyr@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6295-5943
Obolensk Russian Federation

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