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Strategies to Identify Potential Therapeutic Target Sites in RNA

  • Chapter
RNA Towards Medicine

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 173))

Abstract

Antisense agents are powerful tools to inhibit gene expression in a sequencespecific manner. They are used for functional genomics, as diagnostic tools and for therapeutic purposes. Three classes of antisense agents can be distinguished by their mode of action: single-stranded antisense oligodeoxynucleotides; catalytic active RNA/DNA such as ribozymes, DNA- or locked nucleic acid (LNA)zymes; and small interfering RNA molecules known as siRNA. The selection of target sites in highly structured RNA molecules is crucial for their successful application. This is a difficult task, since RNA is assembled into nucleoprotein complexes and forms stable secondary structures in vivo, rendering most of the molecule inaccessible to intermolecular base pairing with complementary nucleic acids. In this review, we discuss several selection strategies to identify potential target sites in RNA molecules. In particular, we focus on combinatorial library approaches that allow high throughput screening of sequences for the design of antisense agents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology, University of Aarhus, C. F. Møllers Allé 130, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    M. Lützelberger & J. Kjems

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  1. M. Lützelberger
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  2. J. Kjems
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemistry/Biochemistry, Free University Berlin, Thielallee 63, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Volker Erdmann

  2. Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Scienes, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704, Poznan, Poland

    Jan Barciszewski

  3. Institute of Experimental Pathology, Molecular Neurobiology (ZMBE), University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 56, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Jürgen Brosius

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Lützelberger, M., Kjems, J. (2006). Strategies to Identify Potential Therapeutic Target Sites in RNA. In: Erdmann, V., Barciszewski, J., Brosius, J. (eds) RNA Towards Medicine. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 173. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27262-3_12

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