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In silico search of DNA drugs targeting oncogenes

George Papadakis1, Electra Gizeli

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Crete and Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), 100 Nikolaou Plastira str, Heraklion 70013, Greece. gpapadak@imbb.forth.gr

IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
|December 11, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Triplex forming oligonucleotides show potential as antigene therapy drug candidates. Researchers identified specific mRNA target sequences in seven out of 25 investigated oncogenes for TFO regulation.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Drug Discovery

Background:

  • Triplex forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) are emerging as potential therapeutic agents.
  • Antigene therapy aims to control gene expression by targeting DNA or mRNA.
  • Oncogenes play a critical role in cancer development and progression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the potential of TFOs for regulating oncogene expression at the mRNA synthesis level.
  • To identify specific TFO target sequences within selected oncogenes.

Main Methods:

  • Computational analysis of 25 known oncogenes to identify potential TFO binding sites.
  • Selection of candidate oncogenes based on strict criteria for TFO interaction.
  • In silico investigation of TFO binding affinity and specificity.

Main Results:

  • Specific mRNA target sequences were identified in seven of the 25 investigated oncogenes.
  • The identified sequences demonstrated potential for TFO-mediated regulation.
  • This study provides a foundation for developing TFO-based antigene therapies.

Conclusions:

  • TFOs hold promise as a novel therapeutic strategy for targeting oncogenes.
  • The identified target sequences are crucial for the rational design of antigene TFO drugs.
  • Further experimental validation is warranted to confirm the therapeutic efficacy of these TFOs.

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