Potent and Selective Inhibition of the Open-Channel Conformation of AMPA Receptors by an RNA Aptamer

Inhibitors of AMPA receptors are useful as biochemical probes for structure-function studies and as drug candidates for a number of neurological disorders and diseases. Here we report the identification of an RNA inhibitor or aptamer by an in vitro evolution approach. Using a laser-pulse photolysis technique, we further characterized the mechanism of inhibition of this aptamer on the AMPA receptor channel-opening rate process in the microsecond-to-millisecond time domain. Our results show that the aptamer we isolated is a noncompetitive inhibitor that selectively inhibits the open-channel conformation of AMPA receptors with nanomolar affinity. The potency and the selectivity of this noncompetitive aptamer rival those of small molecule inhibitors. Our results therefore demonstrate the utility of this approach in developing water-soluble, highly potent, and conformation-selective noncompetitive inhibitors of AMPA receptors.