Nucleic Acid Aptamers as Novel Class of Therapeutics to Mitigate Alzheimer's Disease Pathology

Deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the brain is a central event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which makes Aβ peptides a crucial target for therapeutic intervention. Significant efforts have been made towards the development of ligands that bind to Aβ peptides with a goal of early detection of amyloid aggregation and the neutralization of Aβ toxicity. Short single-stranded oligonucleotide aptamers bind with high affinity and specificity to their targets. Aptamers that specifically bind to Aβ monomers, specifically the 40 and 42 amino acid species (Aβ1-40 and Aβ1- 42), fibrils and plaques have a great potential for diagnostic applications and the treatment of AD. Herein, we review the aptamers that bind to the various forms of Aβ peptides for use in diagnosis and to inhibit plaque formation.