PSSKB: A Web Application to Study Protein Structures.

The proteins expressed during the cell cycle determine cell function and ensure signaling pathway activation in response to environmental influences. Developments in structural biology, biophysics, and bioinformatics provide information on the structure and function of particular proteins including that on the structural changes in proteins due to post-translational modification (PTM) and amino acid substitutions (AAS), which is essential for understanding protein function and life cycle. These are PTMs and AASs that often modulate the function and alter the stability and localization of a protein in a cell.

Post-Selection Design of Aptamers: Comparative Study of Affinity of the DNA Aptamers to Recombinant Extracellular Domain of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors.

The current work presents comparative assessment of affinity of the designed DNA aptamers for extracellular domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR*). The affinity data of the 20 previously published aptamers are summarized. Diversity of the aptamer selection methods and techniques requires unification of the comparison algorithms, which is also necessary for designing aptamers used in the post-selection fitting to the target EGFR* protein.

Towards Aptamer-Targeted Drug Delivery to Brain Tumors: The Synthesis of Ramified Conjugates of an EGFR-Specific Aptamer with MMAE on a Cathepsin B-Cleavable Linker.

Targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic agents is a well-established approach to cancer therapy. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) typically carry toxic payloads attached to a tumor-associated antigen-targeting IgG antibody via an enzyme-cleavable linker that releases the drug inside the cell. Aptamers are a promising alternative to antibodies in terms of antigen targeting; however, their polynucleotide nature and smaller size result in a completely different PK/PD profile compared to an IgG.