For several years, we have been developing innovative methods for the selection of aptamers that have led to several patents. Our aim is to use these aptamers to study the mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative diseases and to develop new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches.
Aptamers are high affinity ligands made up of three-dimensional structures of nucleic acids (RNA, DNA or modified chemistry). They can be selected by in vitro molecular evolution methods against many molecular targets (e. g. proteins, peptides or small chemical molecules such as metabolites or neurotransmitters). Aptamers have several advantages over antibodies. For example, they can be chemically produced and are very stable over a wide range of pH and temperature. They can thus be easily combined with many compounds to create new specific molecular recognition probes.
Our research activity concerns:
1- the selection of aptamers that can specifically recognize different types of protein aggregates involved in neurodegenerative diseases.
2- the selection of aptamers that can be used for in vivo imaging of gene expression.
3- the selection of aptamers that can inhibit proteins involved in neuronal death.
Laboratory Members Associated with Projects
- Alix Bouvier-Müller (PhD Student) - Fellowship IRTELIS CEA. 2016-2019.
- Cynthia Forier (Engineer) - Contrat CDD CEA. 2017-2019
- Yann Bramoulle (Researcher)
- Alexis Bemelmans (Researcher)
- Nadja Van Camp (Researcher)
- Thibault Percerou (Technician)
- Gwenaëlle Aurégan (Technician)
- Emmanuel Brouillet (DR2-CNRS)
- Philippe Hantraye (DR2-CNRS)
Main collaborations
- Ronald Melki, Paris-Saclay Institute
of Neuroscience, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Gif-sur-Yvette,
France.
- LFB Biotechnologies, les Ulis, France
Recent publications
Aptamer binding footprints discriminate α-synuclein fibrillar polymorphs from different synucleinopathies.
Bouvier-Müller A, Fourmy D, Fenyi A, Bousset L, Melki R, Ducongé F.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 : gkae544.
The forkhead DNA-binding domain binds specific G2-rich RNA sequences.
Zutterling C, Todeschini AL, Fourmy D, Busso D, Veaute X, Ducongé F, Veitia RA.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2023;51(22):12367-12380.
Improvement of Aptamers by High-Throughput Sequencing of Doped-SELEX.
Ducongé F.
Methods Mol Biol. 2023 ; 2570:85-102.
Application of aptamers for in vivo molecular imaging and theranostics. 
Bouvier-Müller A and Ducongé F.
Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2018 ; 134:94-106.
Nucleic acid aptamers for neurodegenerative diseases
Bouvier-Müller, A. and Ducongé, F.
Biochimie 2017 j.biochi.2017.10.026.
DNA aptamer affinity ligands for highly selective purification of human plasma-related proteins from multiple sources
Forier, C., Boschetti, E., Ouhammouch, M., Cibiel, A., Duconge, F., Nogre, M., Tellier, M., Bataille, D., Bihoreau, N., Santambien, P. et al.
J Chromatogr 2017 A, 1489, 39-50.
Applications of High-Throughput Sequencing for In Vitro Selection and Characterization of Aptamers
Nguyen Quang, N., Perret, G. and Ducongé, F.
Pharmaceuticals 2016, 9, 76.
How to Measure the Affinity of Aptamers for Membrane Proteins Expressed on the Surface of Living Adherent Cells
Quang, N.N., Pestourie, C., Cibiel, A. and Duconge, F.
Methods 2016, 97, 35-43.