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LNA: a versatile tool for therapeutics and genomics

2003; Elsevier BV; Volume: 21; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0167-7799(02)00038-0

0167-9430

Michael Petersen, Jesper Wengel,

RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms

Locked nucleic acid (LNA) is a nucleic acid analogue that displays unprecedented hybridization affinity towards complementary DNA and RNA. Structural studies have shown LNA to be an RNA mimic, fitting seamlessly into an A-type duplex geometry. Several reports have revealed LNA as a most promising molecule for the development of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics. For example, Tat-dependent transcription and telomerase activity have been efficiently suppressed by LNA oligomers, and efficient cleavage of highly structured RNA has been achieved using LNA-modified DNAzymes ('LNAzyme'). Furthermore, convincing examples of the application of LNA to nucleic acid diagnostics have been reported, including high capturing efficiencies and unambiguous scoring of single-nucleotide polymorphisms.