Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Live Imaging to Study Microtubule Dynamic Instability in Taxane-resistant Breast Cancers
Published on: February 20, 2017
Dual-Mechanism Aptamer-Drug Complex Overcomes Paclitaxel Resistance in Ovarian Cancer via Structural Constraint and
Yuan Ma1,2, Zefeng Chen2,3, Xinyang Shen4
1School of Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
None:
Paclitaxel resistance and poor tumor selectivity remain significant challenges in epithelial ovarian cancer therapy. To overcome these challenges, we engineered PSaA360, a structurally constrained aptamer-drug conjugate with a dual-functional molecular lock that simultaneously rigidifies the AS1411 aptamer and delivers potent telomerase inhibition. Unlike the conformational flexibility of conventional aptamer-drug conjugates, PSaA360 employs the G-quadruplex stabilizer 360A to simultaneously rigidify the AS1411 aptamer into a high-affinity conformation and deliver potent telomerase inhibition. This structure-constrained and therapy-integrated strategy improved nucleolin binding, enhanced cellular internalization, and counteracted paclitaxel chemoresistance. In vivo, PSaA360 exhibited marked tumor inhibition with minimal systemic toxicity. By transforming a therapeutic agent into a structural stabilizer, PSaA360 establishes a new paradigm for mechanism-guided aptamer engineering in chemotherapy-resistant malignancies.
Related Concept Videos
Drugs that Stabilize Microtubules
Treatment Resistant Cancers
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...

