title: Antisense antimicrobial therapeutics.
abstract: Antisense antimicrobial therapeutics are synthetic oligomers that silence expression of specific genes. This specificity confers an advantage over broad-spectrum antibiotics by avoiding unintended effects on commensal bacteria. The sequence-specificity and short length of antisense antimicrobials also pose little risk to human gene expression. Because antisense antimicrobials are a platform technology, they can be rapidly designed and synthesized to target almost any microbe. This reduces drug discovery time, and provides flexibility and a rational approach to drug development. Recent work has shown that antisense technology has the potential to address the antibiotic-resistance crisis, since resistance mechanisms for standard antibiotics apparently have no effect on antisense antimicrobials. Here, we describe current reports of antisense antimicrobials targeted against viruses, parasites, and bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, 226 Nash Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-3804, USA.
authors.forename: Erin K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Sully
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, 226 Nash Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-3804, USA. Electronic address: gellerb@oregonstate.edu.
authors.forename: Bruce L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Geller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000379:methods; D020319:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides, Antisense / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020320:Oligoribonucleotides, Antisense / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010271:Parasites / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D010272:Parasitic Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D054735:Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014780:Viruses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D020319:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides, Antisense; D020320:Oligoribonucleotides, Antisense; D054735:Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides