{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T21:59:21Z","timestamp":1769723961582,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,28]],"date-time":"2021-10-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1635379200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008518","name":"The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008518","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["U54 CA151668"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U54 CA151668"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UL1 TR000371"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UL1 TR000371"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The application of aptamers in biomedicine is emerging as an essential technology in the field of cancer research. As small single-stranded DNA or RNA ligands with high specificity and low immunogenicity for their targets, aptamers provide many advantages in cancer therapeutics over protein-based molecules, such as antibodies. Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein that is overexpressed in endothelial cells of cancerous tissue. High expression levels of vimentin have been associated with increased capacity for migration and invasion of the tumor cells. We have selected and identified thioated aptamers with high specificity for vimentin using human ovarian cancer tissues. Tentative binding motifs were chosen for two vimentin aptamers based on predicted secondary structures. Each of these shorter, tentative binding motifs was synthesized, purified, and characterized via cell binding assays. Two vimentin binding motifs with high fidelity binding were selected and further characterized via cell and tissue binding assays, as well as flow cytometric analysis. The equilibrium binding constants of these small thioated aptamer constructs were also determined. Future applications for the vimentin binding aptamer motifs include conjugation of the aptamers to synthetic dyes for use in targeted imaging and therapy, and ultimately more detailed and precise monitoring of treatment response and tumor progression in ovarian pathology.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules26216525","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,28]],"date-time":"2021-10-28T23:51:36Z","timestamp":1635465096000},"page":"6525","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Selection and Characterization of Vimentin-Binding Aptamer Motifs for Ovarian Cancer"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Andrea M.","family":"Costello","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Medicine, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1825 Hermann Pressler, Houston, TX 77030, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Miguel-Angel","family":"Elizondo-Riojas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro Universitario Contra el C\u00e1ncer (CUCC), Servicio de Oncolog\u00eda, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Hospital Universitario \u201cDr. Jos\u00e9 Eleuterio Gonz\u00e1lez\u201d, Nuevo, Le\u00f3n 64460, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Medicine, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1825 Hermann Pressler, Houston, TX 77030, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4372-6915","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David E.","family":"Volk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Medicine, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1825 Hermann Pressler, Houston, TX 77030, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anil K.","family":"Pillai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hongyu","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Medicine, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1825 Hermann Pressler, Houston, TX 77030, USA"},{"name":"Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"649","DOI":"10.1038\/nbt0604-649","article-title":"Oligo oligarchy\u2014The surprisingly small world of aptamers","volume":"22","author":"Thiel","year":"2004","journal-title":"Nat. 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