Antisense oligonucleotides selected by hybridisation to scanning arrays are effective reagents in vivo

Transcripts representing mRNAs of three Xenopus cyclins, B1, B4 and B5, wer e hybridised to arrays of oligonucleotides scanning the first 120 nt of the coding region to assess the ability of the immobilised oligonucleotides to form heteroduplexes with their targets. Oligonucleotides that produced hig h heteroduplex yield and others that showed little annealing were assayed f or their effect on translation of endogenous cyclin mRNAs in Xenopus egg ex tracts and their ability to promote cleavage of cyclin mRNAs in oocytes by RNase H. Excellent correlation was found between antisense potency and affi nity of oligonucleotides for the cyclin transcripts as measured by the arra y, despite the complexity of the cellular environment.