Gene-targeting pharmaceuticals for single-gene disorders.

ABSTRACT: The concept of orphan drugs for treatment of orphan genetic diseases is perceived enthusiastically at present, and this is leading to research investment on the part of governments, disease-specific foundations and industry. This review attempts to survey the potential to use traditional pharmaceuticals as opposed to biopharmaceuticals to treat single-gene disorders. The available strategies include the use of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to alter splicing or knock-down expression of a transcript, siRNAs to knock-down gene expression and drugs for nonsense mutation read-through. There is an approved drug for biallelic knock-down of the APOB gene as treatment for familial hypercholesterolemia. Both ASOs and siRNAs are being explored to knock-down the transthyretin gene to prevent the r

SUBMITTER: Beaudet AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4802373 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature