Transferrin receptor-mediated internalization and intracellular fate of conjugates of a DNA aptamer

Aptamers have excellent specificity and affinity in targeting cell surface receptors, showing great potential in targeted delivery of drugs, siRNA, mRNA, and various nanomaterials with therapeutic function. A better insight of the receptor-mediated internalization process of aptameric conjugates could facilitate the design of new targeted drugs. In this paper, human transferrin receptor-targeted DNA aptamer (termed HG1-9)-fluorophore conjugates were synthesized to visualize the internalization, intracellular transport, and nano-environmental pH of aptameric conjugates. Unlike transferrin that showed high recycling rate and short duration time in cells, the synthetic aptameric conjugates continuously accumulated within cells at a relatively slower rate, besides recycling back to cell surface. After long incubation (≥2 h), only very small amounts of HG1-9 conjugates (approximately 5%) entered late endosomes or lysosomes, and more than 90% of internalized HG1-9 was retained in cellular vesicles (pH 6.0–6.8), escaping from degradation. And among the internalized HG1-9 conjugates, approximately 20% was dissociated from transferrin receptor. The lower recycling ratios of HG1-9 conjugates and their dissociation from receptors promote the accurate and efficient release of their loaded drugs. These results suggest that aptamer HG1-9 could be provided as a versatile tool for specific and effective delivery of diverse therapeutic payloads.