The Selection of Aptamers for Biomarker Peptides for Kawasaki Disease

Abstract

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an illness that affects children around the world. There is no current laboratory test that confirms the diagnosis and supports the treatment plan.Recent novel truncation of Serum Amyloid A (KD-PEP) has been identified in patients with KD which are not observed in patients with alternate fragmentations associated with febrile illnesses (FC-PEP). A method for KD detection could be developed using aptamers.Aptamers are oligonucleotides that can bind targets with high affinity and specificity that rival antibodies. Through two screening experiments, aptamer candidates for both KD-PEP and FC-PEP were identified through sequencing and bioinformatics analysis and further screening for the reduction of consensus sequences or complementarity. This analysis yielded nine potential aptamers for KD-PEP, and nine for FC-PEP. Preliminary characterization of one aptamer for KD-PEP and one aptamer for FC-PEP has been included.