Elucidating cell signaling mechanisms using antisense technology

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.