Aptamers in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment

Abstract

<jats:p>Aptamers are short, single-stranded oligonucleotides which are capable of specifically binding to single molecules and cellular structures. Aptamers are also known as “chemical antibodies”. Compared to monoclonal antibodies, they are characterized by higher reaction specificity, lower molecular weight, lower production costs, and lower variability in the production stage. Aptamer research has been extended during the past twenty years, but only Macugen® has been accepted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to date, and few aptamers have been examined in clinical trials. In vitro studies with aptamers have shown that they may take part in the regulation of cancer progression, angiogenesis, and metastasis processes. In this article, we focus on the potential use of aptamers in non-small cell lung cancer treatment.</jats:p>

Modelling of SHMT1 riboregulation predicts dynamic changes of serine and glycine levels across cellular compartments

“…The advancement of aptamer-based therapeutics in oncology [46] , [47] , combined with the recent evidences of riboregulation of metabolic enzymes involved in cancer [3] , [10] , [11] , [45] , [18] , open the possibily to employ RNA aptamers to regulate metabolic enzymes and lower their oncogenic potential. The selectivity of such RNA modulators can be tailored to hit specific cell types, taking advantage of the ongoing knowledge on cell specific targeting of RNA molecules employing different mechanisms of action [48] , [49] . In this view, our results pave the way for the design of new aptamers-based treatments employing RNA molecules as allosteric modulators of the activity of selected metabolic enzymes, such approach will be helpful to treat diseases where the dysregulation of serine and glycine plays an important role, including cancer.…”

Modelling of SHMT1 riboregulation predicts dynamic changes of serine and glycine levels across cellular compartments

“…The advancement of aptamer-based therapeutics in oncology [46,47], combined with the recent evidences of riboregulation of metabolic enzymes involved in cancer [3,10,11,18,45], open the possibily to employ RNA aptamers to regulate metabolic enzymes and lower their oncogenic potential. The selectivity of such RNA modulators can be tailored to hit specific cell types, taking advantage of the ongoing knowledge on cellspecific targeting of RNA molecules employing different mechanisms of action [48], [49]. In this view, our results pave the way for the design of new aptamers-based treatments employing RNA molecules as allosteric modulators of the activity of selected metabolic enzymes, such approach will be helpful to treat diseases where the dysregulation of serine and glycine plays an important role, including cancer.…”

Clinical Application Perspectives of Lung Cancers 3D Tumor Microenvironment Models for In Vitro Cultures

“…Herein, hydrogel-based 3D tumor-TME cultures can be used. One of the main directions nowadays is developing tumor-specific nanoparticles loaded by chemotherapeutical drugs for precision delivery and limitation of adverse effects [7]. The use of the tumor-on-chip model provides an opportunity to monitor drug penetration through the tumor sphere in real time and for analysis of molecular changes by off-chip methods.…”

“…The main therapeutical strategy for non-operative patients in the IIIB-IV disease stages is a combination of chemotherapy and targeted or immunotherapy. For patients with driver mutations, such as EGFR (10% of NSCLC cases) and BRAF (0.5-4.9% of lung adenocarcinomas), and rearrangements in ROS1 (1-2% of lung adenocarcinomas) and ALK (3-7% of lung adenocarcinomas) gene-targeted therapy can be used [6,7]. Nowadays, the main immune therapy strategy used for LC treatment is immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).…”