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| ==Introduction== | | ==Introduction== |
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− | Back when he was a postdoctoral fellow, Professor Niles screened a random library of RNA aptamers to find one that binds to heme – the iron-containing site in hemoglobin. It is known that heme can bind to certain transcription factors and modulate gene expression (see examples [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11212295 here] and [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11387216 here]), and RNA aptamers are one potential tool for learning more about signaling networks involving heme. To select heme-binding aptamers, Professor Niles ran a pool of RNAs with 50 randomized base pairs through a heme affinity column. He then amplified the column-selected pool of aptamers and repeated the process several times. An aptamer called “6-5” survived through the 6th round of screening, but ultimately was found not to bind to heme. An aptamer called “8-12” survived through all 8 rounds of screening, and has a heme binding affinity of 220 nM. Both were described in [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed17168539 this] 2006 paper. | + | Back when he was a postdoctoral fellow, Professor Niles screened a random library of RNA aptamers to find one that binds to heme |