Antisense peptides: a critical mini-review

Antisense peptides are defined as those generated from the non-coding strand of DNA, and represent a peptide analog to antisense RNA technologies. Peptides generated from both parallel and anti-parallel readings of the non-coding strand of DNA have displayed biological activity, although considerable controversy exists concerning the mechanism(s) by which these "anti-peptides" exert their effects. This paper provides a critical review of some of the key data and issues defining this emerging field and focuses on contradictions and discrepancies in the current studies. We also suggest some directions for future research such as more physico-chemical studies and the use of combinatorial chemistry techniques combined with solid phase binding studies to test, once and for all, the generality and specificity of antisense peptide interactions.