Expanding synthetic lethality through computationally designed aptamers

Aptamers are emerging as versatile tools in cancer research and therapy because they combine high target specificity with low immunogenicity, chemical tractability, and straightforward sequence optimization. They have been developed for tumor recognition, biomarker detection, targeted delivery of drugs and therapeutic RNAs, and direct modulation of oncogenic or immune pathways.1,2 Their programmable nature also creates opportunities to target intracellular protein interactions that remain largely inaccessible to conventional therapeutics.