1. RNA and DNA aptamers as potential tools to prevent cell adhesion in disease
- Author
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Ulrich H., Alves M.J.M., and Colli W.
- Subjects
SELEX ,aptamers ,cell adhesion ,cell invasion ,Trypanosoma cruzi ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
Recent research has shown that receptor-ligand interactions between surfaces of communicating cells are necessary prerequisites for cell proliferation, cell differentiation and immune defense. Cell-adhesion events have also been proposed for pathological conditions such as cancer growth, metastasis, and host-cell invasion by parasites such as Trypanosoma cruzi. RNA and DNA aptamers (aptus = Latin, fit) that have been selected from combinatorial nucleic acid libraries are capable of binding to cell-adhesion receptors leading to a halt in cellular processes induced by outside signals as a consequence of blockage of receptor-ligand interactions. We outline here a novel approach using RNA aptamers that bind to T. cruzi receptors and interrupt host-cell invasion in analogy to existing procedures of blocking selectin adhesion and function in vitro and in vivo.
- Published
- 2001