Selective aptamer-based control of intraneuronal signaling

Cellular behavior is orchestrated by the complex interactions of a myriad of intracellular signal transduction pathways. To understand and investigate the role of individual components in such signaling networks, the availability of specific inhibitors is of paramount importance. We report the generation and validation of a novel variant of an RNA aptamer that selectively inhibits the mitogen-activated kinase pathway in neurons. We demonstrate that the aptamer retains function under intracellular conditions and that application of the aptamer through the patch-clamp pipette efficiently inhibits mitogen-activated kinase-dependent synaptic plasticity. This approach introduces synthetic aptamers as generic tools, readily applicable to inhibit different components of intraneuronal signaling networks with utmost specificity.