CD71-Specific Aptamer Conjugated with Monomethyl Auristatin E for the Treatment of Uveal Melanoma

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular malignancy among adults. Despite significant advances in diagnosis and treatment, the general mortality of UM remains alarmingly high. This calls for the development of new approaches for the treatment of UM, such as targeted cancer therapy. CD71, also known as transferrin receptor 1, is overexpressed in UM cell lines and tissues. Herein, we report the development of a CD71-specific aptamer targeting the XQ-2d-MMAE conjugate that can distinguish UM cells from normal human uveal melanocytes. The cytotoxic drug monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) could be easily coupled onto XQ-2d, a DNA aptamer that specifically targets CD71, to achieve efficiently targeted cancer growth inhibition in a mouse xenograft model, thus implying that XQ-2d-MMAE might be developed into a promising novel anti-tumor agent for the treatment of UM. Collectively, our results demonstrated that CD71 is a reliable target for drug delivery in UM and could be utilized as a model to explore aptamer-mediated targeted UM treatment strategies.