Specific inhibition of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 signaling by a DNA aptamer

Impaired fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) signaling is associated with many human conditions, including growth disorders, degenerative diseases, and cancer. Current FGFR therapeutics are based on chemical inhibitors of FGFR tyrosine kinase activity (TKIs). However, FGFR TKIs are limited in their target specificity as they generally inhibit all FGFRs and other receptor tyrosine kinases. In the search for specific inhibitors of human FGFR1, we identified VZ23, a DNA aptamer that binds to FGFR1b and FGFR1c with a K_D of 55 nM and 162 nM, respectively, but not to the other FGFR variants (FGFR2b, FGFR2c, FGFR3b, FGFR3c, FGFR4). In cells, VZ23 inhibited the activation of downstream FGFR1 signaling and FGFR1-mediated regulation of cellular senescence, proliferation, and extracellular matrix homeostasis. Consistent with the specificity toward FGFR1 observed in vitro, VZ23 did not inhibit FGFR2-4 signaling in cells. We show that the VZ23 inhibits FGFR1 signaling in the presence of cognate fibroblast growth factor (FGF) ligands and its inhibitory activity is linked to its capacity to form unusual G-quadruplex structure. Our data suggest that targeting FGFR1 with DNA aptamers could be an effective alternative to TKIs for treating impaired FGFR1 signaling in human craniosynostoses.