Aptamers as Potential Therapeutic Tools for Ovarian Cancer: Advancements and Challenges

Abstract

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most common lethal gynecologic cause of death in women worldwide, with a high mortality rate and increasing incidence. Despite advancements in the treatment, most OC patients still die from their disease due to late-stage diagnosis, the lack of effective diagnostic methods, and relapses. Aptamers, synthetic, short single-stranded oligonucleotides, have emerged as promising anticancer therapeutics. Their ability to selectively bind to target molecules, including cancer-related proteins and receptors, has revolutionized drug discovery and biomarker identification. Aptamers offer unique insights into the molecular pathways involved in cancer development and progression. Moreover, they show immense potential as drug delivery systems, enabling targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to cancer cells while minimizing off-target effects and reducing systemic toxicity. In the context of OC, the integration of aptamers with non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) presents an opportunity for precise and efficient gene targeting. Additionally, the conjugation of aptamers with nanoparticles allows for accurate and targeted delivery of ncRNAs to specific cells, tissues, or organs. In this review, we will summarize the potential use and challenges associated with the use of aptamers alone or aptamer–ncRNA conjugates, nanoparticles, and multivalent aptamer-based therapeutics for the treatment of OC.

Revolutionizing cancer therapy using tetrahedral DNA nanostructures as intelligent drug delivery systems

“…Nanostructures coupled with folic acid (FA) exhibited effective gene silencing, surpassing the limitations of siRNA, improving the effectiveness of RNA interference, and remaining stable in the bloodstream. This underscores the capacity of DNA tetrahedron structures to surmount obstacles related to siRNA transportation for biological purposes 141 .…”

“…This underscores the capacity of DNA tetrahedron structures to surmount obstacles related to siRNA transportation for biological purposes. 139 …”

Insight into the Functional Dynamics and Challenges of Exosomes in Pharmaceutical Innovation and Precision Medicine

“…Additionally, the stability of aptamers under experimental conditions presents another significant challenge. Given these limitations, there is a growing preference for more efficient methods of exosome surface modification that circumvent these drawbacks [ 26 , 212 ].…”

Advancements in Aptamer‐Driven DNA Nanostructures for Precision Drug Delivery

“…Due to their unique targeting abilities, aptamers have found extensive utility as therapeutic agents. [ 113 ] Different therapeutic agents can be encapsulated specifically with favorable payload in aptamer‐based DNA nanostructures for enhanced synergistic therapy (exceeding 30%) ( Table 2 ). This underscores the considerable potential of these targeted systems in biomedical applications.…”