Anitsense Agents
Brittany Hasselberg
Biochemistry I
September 26, 2003
Antisense RNA
mainly a translation regulator - somewhat involved in transcription:
transcription product of DNA sense strand, the one that does not encode a protein
controls expression of prokaryotic and eukaryotes
can inhibit transcription by pairing with an RNA species (1017)
Mathews, Christopher K., K. E. van Holde, and Kevin G. Ahern. Biochemistry. 3rd ed. Addison Wesly Longman, Inc.: San Francisco, 2000.
Antisense technology - drug-discovery that uses synthetic oligonucleotides to inhibit production of particular disease-causing proteins (Hybridon)
Antisense drugs
inhibit disease-associated protein production
can treat:
· Cancer
· Viral and infectious disease
· Autoimmune or inflammatory disease
· Respiratory disease
· Cardiovascular disease
· Diabetes (Hybridon)
http://www.hybridon.com/technology/antisense.html
1 - A normal cell has DNA that is "unzipped" to reveal bases the make a gene.
2 - Enzymes aline complimentary RNA bases (mRNA) which link in the same way as the DNA bases.
3 - mRNA binds and the protein enjoined by the gene is made.
4 - An antisense drug, which is an inverse of the mRNA -- complimentary to the 5' end of mRNA (Mathews 1060) --, blocks production of the unwanted protein.
5 - The antisense attaches to the mRNA in the cell. This inhibits the production of the disease-associated protein. Cell enzymes cleave the mRNA in the complex, which disables mRNA and releaves the antisense drug. (Hybridon)
Hybridon Technology: Antisense Technology. 24 Sept. 2003. Hybridon, Inc. <http://www.hybridon.com/technology/antisense.html>.