[Prospects for antisense therapy of human leukemias]

Recent progress in cloning of pathogenic genes and technical advance in the synthesis of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (AS ODN) analogues have spurred a research effort dedicated to the development of antisense therapy for cancer and viral diseases. We have reported that phosphorothioate AS ODN could effectively inhibit the abnormal expression of activated or rearranged oncogenes and lead to the growth suppression of leukemic cells in vitro by the induction of apoptosis. In this article, the state of art in antisense research and the feasibility of antisense therapy for leukemia are also discussed.