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Design and Biological Application of RTK Agonist Aptamers

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Handbook of Chemical Biology of Nucleic Acids

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Abstract

Growth factors (GFs) play important roles in cell–cell communication by transducing cell signaling through binding to receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), single-pass transmembrane receptors with kinase activity. GF stimulates various cellular activities, such as proliferation, migration, and differentiation, to secure the developmental process and maintain tissue homeostasis. Owing to the regenerative action, recombinant GFs have been widely used in the treatment of disease and injured tissue. In addition, GF is supplemented in culture media to control cellular activity in vitro. However, recombinant GFs often suffer from their limitations such as high production cost, risk of contamination, and batch-to-batch activity variations. Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides with molecular recognition ability that have attracted attention as a promising alternative. They can bind to target molecules with high affinity and specificity, which are often comparable to those of antibodies. RTK-binding aptamer can be generated through a well-established molecular evolution process called “systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment” (SELEX) using a purified extracellular domain of receptor or receptor expressing cells. This chapter summarizes the RTK-binding aptamers and their applications in the modulation of RTK activity, particularly focusing on the generation and rational design of agonist aptamer to RTKs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Ryosuke Ueki & Shinsuke Sando

Authors
  1. Ryosuke Ueki
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  2. Shinsuke Sando
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Correspondence to Ryosuke Ueki or Shinsuke Sando .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Frontier Institute for Biomolecular Engineering Research (FIBER), Konan University, Kobe, Japan

    Naoki Sugimoto

Section Editor information

  1. Binghamton University, New York, USA

    Eriks Rozners

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Ueki, R., Sando, S. (2022). Design and Biological Application of RTK Agonist Aptamers. In: Sugimoto, N. (eds) Handbook of Chemical Biology of Nucleic Acids. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1313-5_78-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1313-5_78-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-1313-5

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