An RNA alternative to human transferrin: a new tool for targeting human cells.

ABSTRACT: The transferrin receptor, CD71, is an attractive target for drug development because of its high expression on a number of cancer cell lines and the blood brain barrier. To generate serum-stabilized aptamers that recognize the human transferrin receptor, we have modified the traditional aptamer selection protocol by employing a functional selection step that enriches for RNA molecules which bind the target receptor and are internalized by cells. Selected aptamers were specific for the human receptor, rapidly endocytosed by cells and shared a common core structure. A minimized variant was found to compete with the natural ligand, transferrin, for receptor binding and cell uptake, but performed ~twofold better than it in competition experiments. Using this molecule, we generated aptamer-targ

SUBMITTER: Wilner SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3390244 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature