Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 17, 2025

In Vitro Selection of Aptamers to Differentiate Infectious from Non-Infectious Viruses
Published on: September 7, 2022
In vitro selection of an RNA aptamer yields an interleukin-6/interleukin-6 receptor interaction inhibitor
Takehiro Ando1, Mizuki Yamamoto2, Yukio Takamori1
1Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Integrated Graduate School of Medicine, Engineering, and Agricultural Sciences, University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan.
Abstract:
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) binds to the IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) subunit, related to autoimmune diseases and cytokine storm in COVID-19. In this study, we performed systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment and identified a novel RNA aptamer. This RNA aptamer not only bound to IL-6R with a dissociation constant of 200 n m, but also inhibited the interaction of IL-6R with IL-6.
Related Concept Videos
Experimental RNAi
RNA Interference
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...

