Aptamers as immune system modulators

Aptamers are short, single-stranded nucleic acids that can fold into specific three-dimensional structures, allowing them to bind target molecules with high affinity and specificity.In recent years, aptamers have gained increasing attention as modulators of the immune system due to their versatility, chemical stability, and low immunogenicity compared with antibodies. Aptamers can be developed to selectively interact with immune receptors, cytokines, and signaling molecules, thereby regulating immune cell activation, differentiation, and inflammatory responses. Advances in SELEX technologies and chemical modifications have significantly improved aptamer stability and functionality in biological settings. As a result, aptamers are being explored as both immune stimulators and suppressors across a wide range of applications, including cancer immunotherapy, autoimmune diseases, and infectious disorders. This growing body of research highlights the potential of aptamers as precise and adaptable tools for immune modulation and therapeutic intervention.A major challenge in immune modulation is the lack of therapeutic agents that combine high specificity, controllability, and safety. Current immunomodulatory strategies, including monoclonal antibodies and small molecules, often have limitations such as high production costs, off-target effects, immunogenicity, and limited tunability. These limitations may trigger adverse immune reactions or reduce therapeutic efficacy in complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, and chronic inflammation, and they may contribute to adverse effects associated with advanced therapies. Aptamers offer a promising solution to these challenges, but their full potential as immune modulators remains underexplored.Recent advances in SELEX methodologies, high-throughput screening, and chemical modifications have significantly improved aptamer affinity, stability, and in vivo performance. In addition, the development of multifunctional and stimulus-responsive aptamers enables more precise control of immune signaling pathways. This Research Topic aims to address how these recent technological and conceptual advances can be used to design aptamer-based strategies that achieve precise, safe, and effective modulation of immune responses for therapeutic applications.The scope of this Research Topic encompasses basic, translational, and clinical research addressing how aptamers can be designed and applied to modulate innate and adaptive immunity in various disease contexts. We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini-Review, Hypothesis and Theory, and Opinion manuscripts that cover, but are not limited to, the following subjects: • Mechanisms of immune modulation by aptamers • Aptamers in cancer immunotherapy • Aptamers in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases • Aptamers in infectious diseases, including antiviral and antibacterial immune regulation • Aptamers in allergy and tolerance induction strategies • Aptamer-guided delivery of immunomodulatory drugs • Aptamers targeting immune cellsPlease note that manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by robust and relevant validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this Research Topic. Topic editors: María Elena Martín, Victoria Calzada Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77806/aptamers-as-immune-system-modulators