Aptamers are small synthetic oligonucleotides that bind to target proteins with high specificity and affinity. AS1411 is an aptamer that binds to nucleolin, which is overexpressed in the cytoplasm and occurs on the surface of cancer cells. We investigated the therapeutic potential of aptamers in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by evaluating anti-tumor effects and confirming the affinity and spec...

AS1411 is a DNA aptamer that is in phase II clinical trials for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia and for renal cell carcinoma. AS1411 binds to nucleolin, a protein that is overexpressed in the cytoplasm and on the plasma membrane of some tumor cells compared with normal cells. Studies were performed to determine whether cell surface nucleolin is a receptor for AS1411 in the acute m...

AS1411 is a quadruplex-forming DNA oligonucleotide that functions as an aptamer to target nucleolin, a protein present on the surface of cancer cells. Clinical trials of AS1411 have indicated it is well tolerated with evidence of therapeutic activity, but improved pharmacology and potency may be required for optimal efficacy. In this report, we describe how conjugating AS1411 to 5 nm gold nanos...

AS1411 is a first-in-class anticancer agent, currently in phase II clinical trials. It is a quadruplex-forming oligodeoxynucleotide that binds to nucleolin as an aptamer, but its mechanism of action is not completely understood. Mechanistic insights could lead to clinically useful markers for AS1411 response and to novel targeted therapies. Previously, we proposed a model where cell surface nuc...

AS1411 is a quadruplex-forming oligonucleotide aptamer that targets nucleolin. It is currently in clinical trials as a treatment for various cancers. We have proposed that AS1411 inhibits cancer cell proliferation by affecting the activities of certain nucleolin-containing complexes. Here, we report that protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of sym...

AS1411 is a quadruplex-forming oligonucleotide aptamer that targets nucleolin. It is currently in clinical trials as a treatment for various cancers. We have proposed that AS1411 inhibits cancer cell proliferation by affecting the activities of certain nucleolin-containing complexes. Here, we report that protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of sym...

UNLABELLED The recent advances in molecular imaging techniques, using cancer-targeting nanoparticle probes, provide noninvasive tracking information on cancer cells in living subjects. Here, we report a multimodal cancer-targeted imaging system capable of concurrent fluorescence imaging, radionuclide imaging, and MRI in vivo. METHODS A cobalt-ferrite nanoparticle surrounded by fluorescent rho...

AS1411 (previously known as AGRO100) is a 26 nucleotide guanine-rich DNA aptamer which forms a guanine quadruplex structure. AS1411 has shown promising utility as a treatment for cancers in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials without causing major side-effects. AS1411 inhibits tumor cell growth by binding to nucleolin which is aberrantly expressed on the cell membrane of many tumors. In this s...

Aptamers can be chemically modified to enhance nuclease resistance and increase target affinity. In this study, we performed chemical modification of 2'-deoxyinosine in AS1411, an anti-proliferative G-rich oligodeoxynucleotide aptamer, which binds selectively to the nucleolin protein. Its function was augmented when 2'-deoxyinosine was incorporated at positions 12, 13, 15, and 24 of AS1411, res...

We sought to determine whether nucleolin, a bcl-2 mRNA-binding protein, has a role in the regulation of bcl-2 mRNA stability in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Furthermore, we examined the efficacy of the aptamer AS1411 in targeting nucleolin and inducing bcl-2 mRNA instability and cytotoxicity in these cells. AS1411 at 5 micromol/L inhibited the growth of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, ...