Delivery of phosphorodiamidate morpholino antisense oligomers in cancer cells

Phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMO), which have a neutral chemistry, are extensively being used as tools for selective inhibition of gene expression in cell culture models and are currently in human clinical trials. PMO oligomers possess a unique structure, in which the deoxyribose moiety of DNA is replaced with a six-membered morpholine ring and the charged phosphodiester internucleoside linkages are replaced with neutral phosphorodiamidate linkages. PMO internalization in uptake-permissive cells has been observed to be specific, saturable, and energy-dependent, suggesting a receptor-mediated uptake mechanism. Understanding PMO transport should facilitate the design of more effective synthetic antisense oligomers as therapeutic agents.