Efficient functional neutralization of lethal peptide toxins in vivo by oligonucleotides.

ABSTRACT: Medical means to save the life of human patients affected by drug abuse, envenomation or critical poisoning are currently limited. While the compounds at risks are most often well identified, particularly for bioterrorism, chemical intervention to counteract the toxic effects of the ingested/injected compound(s) is restricted to the use of antibodies. Herein, we illustrate that DNA aptamers, targeted to block the pharmacophore of a poisonous compound, represent a fast-acting and reliable method of neutralization in vivo that possesses efficient and long-lasting life-saving properties. For this proof of concept, we used one putative bioweapon, αC-conotoxin PrXA, a marine snail ultrafast-killing paralytic toxin, to identify peptide-binding DNA aptamers. We illustrate that they can efficientl

SUBMITTER: El-Aziz TMA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5543128 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature