TY - JOUR
T1 - Advantages, applications and future directions of in vivo aptamer SELEX: a review
AU - Lyu, Minchuan
AU - Chan, Chi Ho
AU - Chen, Ziqi
AU - Liu, Yumeng
AU - Yu, Yuanyuan
N1 - This study was supported by the Hong Kong General Research Fund from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. 12102120 & 12102322), and Theme-based Research Scheme from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong SAR, China (Project No. T12-201/20-R). This article is a review and does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Publisher copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.
PY - 2025/5/26
Y1 - 2025/5/26
N2 - In vivo SELEX emerged as a transformative technique for directly identifying aptamers within living organisms. Unlike traditional in vitro methods which often fail to capture the complexity of biological interactions in physiological environments, in vivo SELEX leverages whole living organisms as selection targets. This strategy significantly enhances the specificity, functionality, and physiological relevance of the selected aptamers, making them more viable for therapeutic, diagnostic, and imaging applications. The aim of this review is to elucidate the unique advantages of in vivo SELEX compared to conventional in vitro techniques. It focuses on how in vivo SELEX improves aptamer specificity, physiological relevance, and pharmacokinetic properties, thereby enhancing their potential for use in diagnostics and therapeutics. This review highlights the principles, advancements, and challenges of in vivo SELEX, while discussing its potential to bridge the gap between aptamer discovery and clinical translation. By enabling the selection of aptamers under real physiological conditions, in vivo SELEX addresses critical limitations of in vitro methods, such as off-target effects and poor clinical translatability. The review also explores the applications of in vivo SELEX in various fields, including neurology, oncology, and cardiovascular diseases, and provides insights into future directions for optimizing this technology.
AB - In vivo SELEX emerged as a transformative technique for directly identifying aptamers within living organisms. Unlike traditional in vitro methods which often fail to capture the complexity of biological interactions in physiological environments, in vivo SELEX leverages whole living organisms as selection targets. This strategy significantly enhances the specificity, functionality, and physiological relevance of the selected aptamers, making them more viable for therapeutic, diagnostic, and imaging applications. The aim of this review is to elucidate the unique advantages of in vivo SELEX compared to conventional in vitro techniques. It focuses on how in vivo SELEX improves aptamer specificity, physiological relevance, and pharmacokinetic properties, thereby enhancing their potential for use in diagnostics and therapeutics. This review highlights the principles, advancements, and challenges of in vivo SELEX, while discussing its potential to bridge the gap between aptamer discovery and clinical translation. By enabling the selection of aptamers under real physiological conditions, in vivo SELEX addresses critical limitations of in vitro methods, such as off-target effects and poor clinical translatability. The review also explores the applications of in vivo SELEX in various fields, including neurology, oncology, and cardiovascular diseases, and provides insights into future directions for optimizing this technology.
KW - Aptamers
KW - In vitro SELEX
KW - In vivo SELEX
KW - MT: Oligonucleotides: Therapies and Applications
KW - in vivo SELEX
KW - in vitro SELEX
KW - aptamers
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105007154382&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.omtn.2025.102575
DO - 10.1016/j.omtn.2025.102575
M3 - Journal article
SN - 2162-2531
VL - 36
JO - Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids
JF - Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids
IS - 3
M1 - 102575
ER -