BACKGROUND DNA aptamers are single-stranded nucleotide sequences that bind specifically to target molecules. By combining the advantages of PCR for amplifying specific DNA sequences and aptamer technology, we have developed a new strategy to detect target molecules such as proteins. METHODS Ovine follicle-stimulating hormone alpha subunit (oFSHalpha) was used as the model protein to generate ...

Although several imaging modalities are widely used for tumor imaging, none are tumor type-specific. Different types of cancer exhibit differential therapeutic responses, thus necessitating development of an imaging modality able to detect various tumor types with high specificity. To illustrate this point, CD30-specific oligonucleotide aptamer in vivo imaging probes were conjugated to the near...

Nucleolin is implicated to play a role in angiogenesis, a vital process in tumor growth and metastasis. However, the presence and clinical relevance of nucleolin in human non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains largely unknown. In this study, we explored the expression and prognostic implication of nucleolin in surgically resected NSCLC patients. A cohort of 146 NSCLC patients who underwent ...

We describe an aptamer-based surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) sensor with high sensitivity, specificity, and stability for the detection of a coagulation protein, human alpha-thrombin. The sensor achieves high sensitivity and a limit of detection of 100 pM by monitoring the SERRS signal change upon the single-step of thrombin binding to immobilized thrombin binding aptamer. T...

The combination of specific ligand-binding aptamers with hairpin ribozyme catalysis generates molecules that can be controlled by external factors. Here we have generated hairpin ribozymes that can be regulated by a short DNA aptamer specific for human α-thrombin. This was achieved by constructing a ribozyme variant harboring an RNA sequence complementary to the aptamer, to which the aptamer ca...

Aptamers are short single-stranded nucleic acids with high affinity to target molecules and are applicable to therapeutics and diagnostics. Regardless of an increasing number of reported aptamers, the structural basis of the interaction of RNA aptamer with proteins is poorly understood. Here, we determined the 2.15 Å crystal structure of the Fc fragment of human IgG1 (hFc1) complexed with an an...

Genotoxic stress (DNA damage) can elicit multiple responses in mammalian cells, including the activation of numerous cascades of signal transduction that result in the activation of cellular genes involved in growth control, DNA repair and apoptosis. In an earlier report, we have shown that DNA-damaging agents can also induce the RNA-binding activity of several specific proteins that favor a do...

Intimin-gamma is an outer membrane protein of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 that is required for the organism to adhere tightly to HEp-2 cells and to colonize experimental animals. Another EHEC O157:H7 protein, the Transferred intimin receptor (Tir), is considered the primary receptor for intimin-gamma. Nevertheless, Tir-independent binding of intimin-gamma to HEp-2 cells ha...

The nucleolus is required for ribosome biogenesis. Human cells have 2 or 3 nucleoli associated with nucleolar organizer region (NOR)-bearing chromosomes. An increase in number and altered nucleolar morphology define cancer cells. However, the mechanisms that modulate nucleolar morphology and function are unclear. Here we show that in addition to localizing at the nuclear envelope, lamin B2 loca...

Insulin like growth factor II receptor (IGFIIR) is a transmembrane protein overexpressed in activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), which are the major target for the treatment of liver fibrosis. In this study, we aim to discover an IGFIIR-specific aptamer that can be potentially used as a targeting ligand for the treatment and diagnosis of liver fibrosis. Systematic evolution of ligands by ex...