title: Aptamers: A promising chemical antibody for cancer therapy.
abstract: Aptamers, also known as chemical antibodies, are single-stranded nucleic acid oligonucleotides which bind to their targets with high specificity and affinity. They are typically selected by repetitive in vitro process termed systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). Owing to their excellent properties compared to conventional antibodies, notably their smaller physical size and lower immunogenicity and toxicity, aptamers have recently emerged as a new class of agents to deliver therapeutic drugs to cancer cells by targeting specific cancer-associated hallmarks. Aptamers can also be structurally modified to make them more flexible in order to conjugate other agents such as nano-materials and therapeutic RNA agents, thus extending their applications for cancer therapy. This review presents the current knowledge on the practical applications of aptamers in the treatment of a variety of cancers.
authors: Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
authors: Gang
authors: G
authors: Zhou
authors: Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
authors: George
authors: G
authors: Wilson
authors: Discipline of Molecular and Cell Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
authors: Lionel
authors: L
authors: Hebbard
authors: School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC, Australia.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Duan
authors: Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: Liddle
authors: Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
authors: Jacob
authors: J
authors: George
authors: Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
authors: Liang
authors: L
authors: Qiao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide
keywords: SELEX; aptamers; cancers; siRNA; target therapy