Written by: The Midland Certified Reagent Company
Summary: Anti-sense therapy acts like a “shut off” for genes that cause disorders.
Genetic disorders and infections can’t stand up to anti-sense therapy. This new medical breakthrough targets a gentic sequence with antisense oligonucleotides, which are designed to attack a particular strand of DNA known to be responsible for a disease or disorder. It doesn’t destroy the gene; this kind of therapy focuses instead on shutting it “off.”
Anti-Sense Explained
For a sequence to be called “anti-sense,” it must complement the sense RNA sequence. In a way, it’s like creating the opposite of a particular segment in order to block that segment or its effects. This has important implications in the world of medical science. You can even use specific elements, like phosphorothioate oligonucleotides, which are designed to mimic a specific reaction. These are often used to detect the presence of some reaction, or to help facilitate a larger chain reaction.
There are several potential drug applications that come with the advent of anti-sense oligonucleotides. For one, drugs that target the genes may be very effective at fighting certain forms of cancer. Malignant glioma, for instance, could be eradicated using this method. It’s also useful in cases where patients exhibit symptoms of muscular dystrophy, or a respiratory disease like asthma. Gene therapy would help isolate the genes causing these problems, and effectively neutralize their function. This could potentially prevent whatever triggers these diseases from showing symptoms and disrupting a patient’s life.
Final Thoughts
The study of genetics, and a greater understanding of the human genome, enables us to tackle the challenge of disease from an entirely different perspective. Soon, our drugs may target our genes instead of the virus itself.