Many diseases result from defects in cell signaling. Achieving an in-depth
understanding of the complex mechanisms by which cells transduce extracellu
lar signals into cellular responses in both normal and diseased systems is
a crucial step in the discovery of more effective drugs to treat human dise
ases. Traditional approaches for studying cell signaling have some limitati
ons. Antisense oligonucleotides represent a novel approach for studying sig
nal transduction processes that offers significant advantages in terms of s
pecificity and versatility. This article reviews the opportunities that ant
isense oligonucleotides offer for the study of signal transduction pathways
and identification of inhibitors of these pathways for drug development.