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Current Pharmaceutical Design

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1381-6128
ISSN (Online): 1873-4286

G-quadruplex DNA Aptamers and their Ligands: Structure, Function and Application

Author(s): W. O. Tucker, K. T. Shum and J. A. Tanner

Volume 18, Issue 14, 2012

Page: [2014 - 2026] Pages: 13

DOI: 10.2174/138161212799958477

Price: $65

Abstract

Highly specific and tight-binding nucleic acid aptamers have been selected against a variety of molecular targets for over 20 years. A significant proportion of these oligonucleotides display G-quadruplex structures, particularly for DNA aptamers, that enable molecular recognition of their ligands. G-quadruplex structures couple a common scaffold to varying loop motifs that act in target recognition. Here, we review DNA G-quadruplex aptamers and their ligands from a structural and functional perspective. We compare the diversity of DNA G-quadruplex aptamers selected against multiple ligand targets, and consider structure with a particular focus on dissecting the thrombin binding aptamer – thrombin interaction. Therapeutic and analytical applications of DNA G-quadruplex aptamers are also discussed. Understanding DNA G-quadruplex aptamers carries implications not only for therapeutics and diagnostics, but also in the natural biochemistry of guanine-rich nucleic acids.

Keywords: G-quadruplex, aptamer, thrombin, sclerostin, G-quartet, G4 tetrad, SELEX, deoxyribozyme, fibrinogen, fluorescent resonance.


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