ANTISENSE TECHNOLOGY AND PROSPECTS FOR THERAPY OF VIRAL-INFECTIONS AND CANCER

Eighteen years ago, antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics that can se lectively knock out disease-causing genes could easily have been viewe d as science fiction, Yet today, through much persistence and focused investment, the technology has nearly evolved to the point of realizat ion, A number of first-generation antisense compounds have entered hum an clinical trials, Some of these compounds appear to work by an antis ense mechanism to inhibit the expression of disease-causing genes, whi le others probably work by unanticipated, yet clinically beneficial, m echanisms, In this review, the current status of antisense oligonucleo tide development will be described as it relates to two areas of conce ntrated effort: antiviral and anticancer applications.