Unit for Drug Discovery, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Science, University of São Paulo, Avenida Professor Lineu Prestes 1374, 05508-000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:731516. doi: 10.1155/2013/731516. Epub 2013 Sep 5.
Worldwide the entire human population is at risk of infectious diseases of which a high degree is caused by pathogenic protozoans, worms, bacteria, and virus infections. Moreover the current medications against pathogenic agents are losing their efficacy due to increasing and even further spreading drug resistance. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover novel diagnostic as well as therapeutic tools against infectious agents. In view of that, the Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) represents a powerful technology to target selectively pathogenic factors as well as entire bacteria or viruses. SELEX uses a large combinatorial oligonucleic acid library (DNA or RNA) which is processed a by high-flux in vitro screen of iterative cycles. The selected ligands, termed aptamers, are characterized by high specificity and affinity to their target molecule, which are already exploited in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In this minireview we will discuss the current status of the SELEX technique applied on bacterial and viral pathogens.
全球整个人类群体都面临着传染病的风险，其中高度致病性的原生动物、蠕虫、细菌和病毒感染是主要原因。此外，由于耐药性的不断增加甚至进一步扩散，目前针对病原体的药物正在失去疗效。因此，迫切需要发现针对传染病的新型诊断和治疗工具。有鉴于此，指数富集的配体系统进化（SELEX）代表了一种针对致病因子以及整个细菌或病毒进行选择性靶向的强大技术。SELEX 使用一个大型组合核酸文库（DNA 或 RNA），通过高通量体外筛选进行迭代循环处理。所选配体，称为适体，具有针对其靶分子的高特异性和亲和力，已在诊断和治疗应用中得到利用。在这篇简评中，我们将讨论 SELEX 技术在细菌和病毒病原体上的应用现状。
