Molecular application of aptamers in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and communicable diseases
Date
2018Author
Molefe, Philisiwe Fortunate
Masamba, Priscilla
Oyinloye, Babatunji Emmanuel
Mbatha, Londiwe Simphiwe
Meyer, Mervin
Kappo, Abidemi Paul
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Cancer and infectious diseases such as Ebola, HIV, tuberculosis, Zika, hepatitis, measles
and human schistosomiasis are serious global health hazards. The increasing annual morbidities
and mortalities of these diseases have been blamed on drug resistance and the inefficacy of available
diagnostic tools, particularly those which are immunologically-based. Antibody-based tools rely
solely on antibody production for diagnosis and for this reason they are the major cause of diagnostic
delays. Unfortunately, the control of these diseases depends on early detection and administration of
effective treatment therefore any diagnostic delay is a huge challenge to curbing these diseases. Hence,
there is a need for alternative diagnostic tools, discovery and development of novel therapeutic agents.
Studies have demonstrated that aptamers could potentially offer one of the best solutions to these
problems. Aptamers are short sequences of either DNA or RNA molecules, which are identified
in vitro through a SELEX process. They are sensitive and bind specifically to target molecules.
Their promising features suggest they may serve as better diagnostic agents and can be used as
drug carriers for therapeutic purposes. In this article, we review the applications of aptamers in the
theranostics of cancer and some infectious diseases.