Aptamer mediated siRNA delivery

TC Chu, KY Twu, AD Ellington, M Levy - Nucleic acids research, 2006 - academic.oup.com
TC Chu, KY Twu, AD Ellington, M Levy
Nucleic acids research, 2006academic.oup.com
Nucleic acids that bind to cells and are subsequently internalized could prove to be novel
delivery reagents. An anti-prostate specific membrane antigen aptamer that has previously
been shown to bind to prostate tumor cells was coupled to siRNAs via a modular
streptavidin bridge. The resulting conjugates could be simply added onto cells without any
further preparation, and were taken up within 30 min. The siRNA-mediated inhibition of gene
expression was as efficient as observed with conventional lipid-based reagents, and was …
Abstract
Nucleic acids that bind to cells and are subsequently internalized could prove to be novel delivery reagents. An anti-prostate specific membrane antigen aptamer that has previously been shown to bind to prostate tumor cells was coupled to siRNAs via a modular streptavidin bridge. The resulting conjugates could be simply added onto cells without any further preparation, and were taken up within 30 min. The siRNA-mediated inhibition of gene expression was as efficient as observed with conventional lipid-based reagents, and was dependent upon conjugation to the aptamer. These results suggest new venues for the therapeutic delivery of siRNAs and for the development of reagents that can be used to probe cellular physiology.
Oxford University Press