Oligonucleotides composed of naturally occurring nucleic acids are unsuitable for many therapeutic and biotechnological applications because of their poor biostability. Numerous nucleic acid analogues have therefore been synthesized for applications related to target-validation studies or therapeutic molecules. Locked nucleic acid (LNA) nucleotide monomers are nucleic acid analogues with a fixe...

The photothermal effect of plasmonic nanostructures has numerous applications, such as cancer therapy, photonic gene circuit, large cargo delivery, and nanostructure-enhanced laser tweezers. The photothermal operation can also induce unwanted physical and biochemical effects, which potentially alter the cell behaviors. However, there is a lack of techniques for characterizing the dynamic cell r...

The use of antisense oligonucleotides to modulate splicing patterns has gained increasing attention as a therapeutic platform and, hence, the mechanisms of splice-switching oligonucleotides are of interest. Cells expressing luciferase pre-mRNA interrupted by an aberrantly spliced beta-globin intron, HeLa pLuc705, were used to monitor the splice-switching activity of modified oligonucleotides by...

In vitro and in vivo resistance to prednisolone are predictive for an adverse prognosis in pediatric precursor B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Causes of resistance are still poorly understood. In this study, we observed that prednisolone exposure of prednisolone-sensitive patients' leukemic cells decreased anti-apoptotic MCL1 protein levels by 2.9-fold, while MCL1 protein expression in predniso...

Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) is a nucleic acid analogue with unprecedented binding affinity and excellent specificity toward complementary RNA and DNA oligonucleotides. The remarkable properties of LNA have led to applications within various gene silencing strategies both in vitro and in vivo. In the present review, we highlight the uses of LNA for regulation of gene expression with emphasis on RN...

Locked nucleic acid (LNA) is a nucleic acid analogue containing one or more LNA nucleotide monomers with a bicyclic furanose unit locked in an RNA mimicking sugar conformation. This conformational restriction results in unprecedented hybridization affinity towards complementary single stranded RNA and thus, makes LNA uniquely suited for mimicking RNA structures and sequence specific targeting o...