Immunostimulation: The Sense in Antisense Technology

The post-human genomic era has led to the development of therapies, which specifically target molecular pathways responsible for diseases. The original concept of antisense therapy was to simply turn off gene's activity by a short synthetic DNA sequence, having sequence complementary to mRNA and thus block the production of undesirable protein. However, during the last two decades this concept has undergone miraculous change. Today antisense therapy is on crossroads. The observation that oligodeoxynucleotides containing CpG dinucleotides (CpG DNA) exhibit immunostimulatory effect has lead to their use as therapeutic agents and adjuvants for various diseases. Knowledge gained from studies of the medicinal chemistry of CpG DNA has provided a base for designing the second generation of CpG DNA agents with immunostimulatory activity. The present article reviews the recent developments, which have caused the revival of antisense therapy.