Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, Koç University, Istanbul, 34450, Turkey.
BMC Biotechnol. 2024 Sep 27;24(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s12896-024-00891-0.
Preeclampsia is a potentially life-threatening condition for both mother and baby, characterized by hypertension and potential organ damage. Early diagnosis is crucial to mitigate its adverse health effects. Traditional diagnostic methods, which focus on late-manifesting symptoms like hypertension and proteinuria, underscore the need for molecular diagnostic approaches for timely detection. This study successfully designs and evaluates novel aptamers with high specificity and affinity for Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Placental Growth Factor (PlGF), biomarkers closely associated with preeclampsia. Using molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and BioLayer Interferometry (BLI), we identified aptamers that demonstrated strong binding affinities, comparable or superior to traditional antibodies. Our findings suggest that these aptamers have the potential to be integrated into cost-effective, point-of-care diagnostic tools, significantly improving early detection and intervention strategies for preeclampsia. The robust performance of these aptamers marks a pivotal step toward the development of more reliable and accessible diagnostic solutions, with implications for better maternal and fetal health outcomes.
子痫前期是一种对母婴都具有潜在生命威胁的疾病，其特征为高血压和潜在的器官损伤。早期诊断对于减轻其不良健康影响至关重要。传统的诊断方法侧重于高血压和蛋白尿等后期表现症状，这突显了分子诊断方法对于及时检测的必要性。本研究成功设计并评估了针对血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）和胎盘生长因子（PlGF）的新型高特异性和高亲和力适体，这些生物标志物与子痫前期密切相关。通过分子对接、分子动力学模拟和生物层干涉（BLI），我们鉴定出了具有强结合亲和力的适体，其亲和力可与传统抗体相媲美或更优。我们的研究结果表明，这些适体有望被整合到具有成本效益的即时诊断工具中，极大地改善了子痫前期的早期检测和干预策略。这些适体的出色性能标志着开发更可靠和更便捷诊断解决方案的重要一步，这对于改善母婴健康结局具有重要意义。
