Digital Droplet PCR for the Absolute Quantification of Exon Skipping Induced by Antisense Oligonucleotides in (Pre-)Clinical Development for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

ABSTRACT: Antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) in clinical development for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) aim to induce skipping of a specific exon of the dystrophin transcript during pre-mRNA splicing. This results in restoration of the open reading frame and consequently synthesis of a dystrophin protein with a shorter yet functional central rod domain. To monitor the molecular therapeutic effect of exon skip-inducing AONs in clinical studies, accurate quantification of pre- and post-treatment exon skip levels is required. With the recent introduction of 3rd generation digital droplet PCR (ddPCR), a state-of-the-art technology became available which allows absolute quantification of transcript copy numbers with and without specific exon skip with high precision, sensitivity and reproducibility. Us

SUBMITTER: Verheul RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5017733 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature