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Zhu C, Feng Z, Qin H, Chen L, Yan M, Li L, Qu F. Recent progress of SELEX methods for screening nucleic acid aptamers. Talanta 2024; 266:124998. [PMID: 37527564 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
Nucleic acid aptamers are oligonucleotide sequences screened by an in vitro methodology called Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX). Known as "chemical antibodies", aptamers can achieve specific recognition towards the targets through conformational changes with high affinity, and possess multiple attractive features including, but not limited to, easy and inexpensive to prepare by chemical synthesis, relatively stable and low batch-to-batch variability, easy modification and signal amplification, and low immunogenicity. Now, aptamers are attracting researchers' attentions from more than 25 disciplines, and have showed great potential for application and economic benefits in disease diagnosis, environmental detection, food security, drug delivery and discovery. Although some aptamers exist naturally as the ligand-binding elements of riboswitches, SELEX is a recognized method for aptamers screening. After thirty-two years of development, a series of SELEX methods have been investigated and developed, as well as have shown unique advantages to improve sequence performances or to explore screening mechanisms. This review would mainly focus on the novel or improved SELEX methods that are available in the past five years. Firstly, we present a clear overview of the aptamer's history, features, and SELEX development. Then, we highlight the specific examples to emphasize the recent progress of SELEX methods in terms of carrier materials, technical improvements, real sample-improved screening, post-SELEX and other methods, as well as their respects of screening strategies, implementation features, screening parameters. Finally, we discuss the remaining challenges that have the potential to hinder the success of SELEX and aptamers in practical applications, and provide the suggestions and future directions for developing more convenient, efficient, and stable SELEX methods in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Zhu
- Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-products, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, 250100, China; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory Test Technology on Food Quality and Safety, Jinan, 250100, China
| | - Ziru Feng
- Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-products, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, 250100, China; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory Test Technology on Food Quality and Safety, Jinan, 250100, China
| | - Hongwei Qin
- Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-products, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, 250100, China; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory Test Technology on Food Quality and Safety, Jinan, 250100, China
| | - Lu Chen
- Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-products, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, 250100, China; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory Test Technology on Food Quality and Safety, Jinan, 250100, China.
| | - Mengmeng Yan
- Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-products, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, 250100, China; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory Test Technology on Food Quality and Safety, Jinan, 250100, China.
| | - Linsen Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Feng Qu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
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Duan Y, Liu F, Zhang C, Wang Y, Chen G. Screen and Optimization of an Aptamer for Alexandrium tamarense-A Common Toxin-Producing Harmful Alga. MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2023; 25:935-950. [PMID: 37743437 DOI: 10.1007/s10126-023-10251-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Among all the paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs)-producing algae, Alexandrium tamarense is one of the most widespread harmful species posing a serious threat to marine resources and human health. Therefore, it is extremely important to establish a rapid and accurate monitoring method for A. tamarense that can provide early warnings of harmful algal blooms (HABs) caused by this alga and limit the contamination due to PSTs. In this study, an ssDNA library was first obtained by whole cell systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment after 18 consecutive rounds of iterative screening. After sequencing in combination with subsequent multiple alignment of sequences and secondary structure simulation, the library could be classified into 2 families, namely, Family1 and Family2, according to sequence similarity. Flow cytometry was used to test the affinity and cross-reactivity of Ata19, Ata6, Ata25 and Ata29 belonging to Family2. Ata19 was selected to be modified by truncation, through which a new resultant aptamer named as Ata19-1-1 was obtained. Ata19-1-1 with a KD of 75.16 ± 11.10 nM displayed a much higher affinity than Ata19. The specificity test showed that Ata19-1-1 has the same discrimination ability as Ata19 and can at least distinguish the target microalga from other microalgae. The observation under a fluorescence microscopy showed that the A. tamarense cells labeled with Ata19-1-1 are exhibiting bright green fluorescence and could be easily identified, factually confirming the binding of the aptamer with target cells. In summary, the aptamer Ata19-1-1 produced in this study may serve as an ideal molecular recognition element for A. tamarense, which has the potential to be developed into a novel detection method for this harmful alga in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Duan
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Wenhua West Road, 2#, Weihai, 264209, People's Republic of China
- School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, People's Republic of China
| | - Fuguo Liu
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Wenhua West Road, 2#, Weihai, 264209, People's Republic of China
- School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, People's Republic of China
| | - Chunyun Zhang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Wenhua West Road, 2#, Weihai, 264209, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Wenhua West Road, 2#, Weihai, 264209, People's Republic of China
| | - Guofu Chen
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Wenhua West Road, 2#, Weihai, 264209, People's Republic of China.
- School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, People's Republic of China.
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Liu F, Zhang C, Duan Y, Ma J, Wang Y, Chen G. Optimization of an aptamer against Prorocentrum minimum - A common harmful algae by truncation and G-quadruplex-forming mutation. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 220:115099. [PMID: 36563978 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.115099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) caused by Prorocentrum minimum have seriously posed economic losses and ecological disasters. To reduce these losses, aptamers are used as a new molecular probe to establish rapid methods. Herein, to improve the affinity and application of aptamers in the detection of harmful algae, the optimization was performed on the previously reported aptamers against P. minimum. First, a total of seven candidate aptamers, including three truncated aptamers (TA1, TA2 and TA3) and four mutant aptamers (MA1, MA2, MA3 and MA4), were obtained by truncation and G-quadruplex (GQ)-forming mutation. Next, the specificity and affinity test by flow cytometry revealed that except for TA1 and TA2, all of the candidate aptamers are specific with the equilibrium dissociation constant of (40.4 ± 5.5) nM for TA3, (63.3 ± 24.0) nM for MA1, (71.7 ± 14.6) nM for MA2, (365.9 ± 74.4) nM for MA3, and (21.1 ± 0.5) nM for MA4, respectively. The circular dichroism analysis of the mutant aptamers demonstrated that the GQ structures formed by MA1/MA2, MA3 and MA4 were antiparallel, mixed parallel and parallel, respectively. The affinity of aptamers with various GQ is in the order of parallel structure > antiparallel structure > mixed parallel structure. In addition, to further improve binding ability, the binding conditions of MA4 were optimized as follows: binding time, 60 min; binding temperature, 37 °C; pH of the binding buffer, 7.5; and Na+/Mg2+ concentration in the binding buffer, 100 mM/0.5 mM. The binding examination by fluorescence microscopy showed that MA4 had a stronger binding ability to P. minimum than the original aptamer. Taken together, this study not only obtained an aptamer with higher affinity than the original aptamer, which laid a good foundation for subsequent application, but also may provide a feasible reference method for aptamer optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuguo Liu
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Weihai, 264209, PR China; School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, PR China
| | - Chunyun Zhang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Weihai, 264209, PR China
| | - Yu Duan
- School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, PR China
| | - Jinju Ma
- School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, PR China
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Weihai, 264209, PR China
| | - Guofu Chen
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Weihai, 264209, PR China.
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Zhao Y, He L, Huang B, Zhang W, Hu A, Li B, Liao S, Wang N. Identification of a novel DNA aptamer that selectively targets lung cancer serum. RSC Adv 2021; 11:33759-33769. [PMID: 35497520 PMCID: PMC9042271 DOI: 10.1039/d1ra06233f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Early diagnosis and treatment is critical to improving the 5 year survival rate of lung cancer. The identification of new options for early-stage diagnosis and therapy of lung cancer still represents a crucial challenge. Therefore, a new diagnostic method is urgently needed. In this study, we used a new modified SELEX, called serum-SELEX, to isolate aptamers that can specifically bind lung cancer serum, without any prior knowledge of their target. Among the obtained candidate aptamer sequences, Ap-LC-19 was identified as the optimal aptamer probe with the lowest dissociation constant (K d) value of 15 ± 8.6 nM and higher affinity assessed by qPCR. Furthermore, this molecule could be a suitable aptamer for lung cancer serum and could be used as a recognition element in aptamer-based biosensors for efficient early diagnosis of lung cancer or as an innovative tool for targeted therapy. In addition, we performed MALDI-TOF MS followed by secondary peptide sequencing MS analysis for the identification of the aptamer targeted proteins. CLEC3B could be useful biomarkers for early detection of lung cancer and in monitoring its evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunwang Zhao
- The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao 066000 China +86-0335-590-8439
| | - Lei He
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenzhen 518055 China
| | - Baihai Huang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Systems Biology, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University Tianjin 300387 China
| | - Weidong Zhang
- The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao 066000 China +86-0335-590-8439
| | - Ailing Hu
- The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao 066000 China +86-0335-590-8439
| | - Baolin Li
- The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao 066000 China +86-0335-590-8439
| | - Shiqi Liao
- College of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University Lanzhou 730000 China
| | - Na Wang
- The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao 066000 China +86-0335-590-8439
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