Title:Patented Aptamers for C-Reactive Protein Detection: A Review About their Use in Clinical Diagnostics
VOLUME: 7 ISSUE: 3
Author(s):Maria Viviana Miramontes-Espino and Marina Maria de Jesus Romero-Prado
Affiliation:Department of Physiology, University Center of Health Sciences (CUCS)-University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Keywords:Aptamers, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular risk, C-reactive protein, CRP polymorphisms, epitope, high-sensitivity
CRP, inflammation, monomeric CRP, native CRP, oligopeptide, prothrombotic state, systematic evolution of ligands by exponential
enrichment (SELEX), Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), vascular endothelium.
Abstract:C-reactive protein (CRP) is a homopentameric oligoprotein composed of monomeric subunits that are about 21
kD each. The form of detectable native CRP in validated assays was developed in 2007 and from that time has been considered
as an excellent biomarker for peripheral artery disease and/or atherosclerosis, as well as a cardiovascular disease
marker for risk prediction. The improvements in the detection of CRP levels could predict significantly the population that
have increased risk of stroke being the modulation of CRP levels as a therapeutical outcome for prevention of cardiovascular
diseases. Nowadays antibodies that specifically bind CRP, as monoclonal anti-CRP antibodies, are available from
commercial sources. Aptamers are biomolecules conformed principally by RNA or DNA, able to adopt secondary structures
that can bind to epitopes from oligopeptides or complete proteins. The sensitivity and accuracy of aptamers has let to
consider them as more efficient to identify proteins than just antibodies. These properties have become the base for testing
these molecules for different uses. A battery of patented aptamers has been developed for detecting and/or measuring
CRP. In this sense, aptamers against CRP (CRP-apt) would help to modulate CRP physiological actions at systemic, tissue,
cellular and molecular levels by using appropriate experimental designs. This kind of studies would lead to fully understand
which systems are regulated by the protein, what disturbances are produced if the CRP is missing or overexpressed.
Finally, we hallmark other applications of CRP in terms of patents for both basic and applied research.
