Oligonucleotide therapeutics for human leukaemia

The concept of antisense oligonucleotide 'therapeutics' has generated a great deal of controversy. Questions abound regarding the mechanism of action of these compounds, their reliability and their ultimate utility. These problems are compounded by the 'hype', which has attended their development, and the inability of workers in this area to meet the expectations raised by its most zealous proponents. Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that there have been some notable gene disruption successes with this technique that have stood up to rigorous scrutiny. Our own work with c-myb as a target is perhaps a reasonable example. Though much remains to be accomplished before antisense drugs are commonly, and usefully, employed in the clinic, it is important to remember what motivates their development. Gene-targeted drugs have the promise of exquisite specificity and the potential to do much good with little toxicity. Accordingly, antisense oligonucleotides can serve as a paradigm of rational drug development. For all these reasons then, we believe that efforts should be increased to decipher the mechanism of action of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides, and to learn how they may be successfully employed in the clinic.