Systematic Review of Aptamer Sequence Reporting in the Literature Reveals Widespread Unexplained Sequence Alterations

Aptamers have been the subject of more than 144 000 papers to date. However, there has been a growing concern that discrepancies in the reporting of aptamer research limit the reliability of these reagents for research and other applications. These observations noting inconsistencies in the use of our RNA antilysozyme aptamer served as an impetus for our systematic review of the reporting of aptamer sequences in the literature. Our detailed examination of the literature citing the RNA antilysozyme aptamer revealed that 93% of the 61 publications reviewed reported unexplained altered sequences with 96% of those using DNA variants. The 10 most cited aptamers were examined using a standardized methodology in order to categorize the extent to which the sequences themselves and altered sequences were adequately described in the literature. Our review of 780 aptamer publications spanned decades, multiple journals, and research groups and revealed that 41% of the papers reported unexplained sequence alterations or omitted sequences. We identified 10 common categories of sequence alterations including deletions, substitutions, and additions, among others. Overall, our findings can be used as a starting point for building better practices in author submissions and publication standards, elevating the rigor and reproducibility of aptamer research.