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Published on: May 2, 2025
Aptamer-based Immune Checkpoint Inhibition for Cancer Immunotherapy
Yihao Huang1, Guihong Lin1, Sinong Liu1
1The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, China.
Abstract:
Cancer has long been a significant threat to human life and health. The advent of immune checkpoint blockade strategies has reversed cancer-induced immune suppression, advanced the development of immunotherapy, and offered new hope in the fight against cancer. Aptamers, which possess the same specificity and affinity as antibodies, are advantageous due to their synthetic accessibility and ease of modification, providing novel insights for immune checkpoint research. In this review, we outline the key aptamers currently developed for immune checkpoints such as CTLA-4, PD-1, PD-L1 and Siglec-15. We explore their potential in therapeutic strategies, including functionalizing or engineering aptamers for covalent binding, valency control, and nanostructure assembly, as well as investigating molecular mechanisms such as glycosylated protein functions and cell-cell interactions. Finally, the future applications of aptamers in immunotherapy are discussed.
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