Zorro Locked Nucleic Acid Silences Genes

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted May 2, 2007 in Gene Therapy

Mutated genes beware. Zorro LNA (locked nucleic acid) is in town.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden have developed a method of shutting down mutant genes using Zorro-LNA (pdf), a synthetic analog of nucleic acids that can bind to both strands of a gene’s DNA and silence it. Potential uses for Zorro-LNA may be to deactivate genes that cause severe diseases such as Huntington’s disease, familial high cholesterol, polycystic kidney disease, some instances of glaucoma, colorectal cancer, and neurofibromatosis.

Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of The Faseb Journal is very optimistic:

This is a major development in the treatment not only of genetic diseases, but also of acquired diseases when microbes or toxins cause genes to go awry. One might say these researchers have found a gene-hunter’s Holy Grail for which scientists have been hunting for many years. Zorro-LNA should give us a new, safe way of blocking the effects of errors in our genetic repertoire.

Based on the paper’s abstract, Zorro locked nucleic acid induces sequence-specific gene silencing, it appears the results are limited to in vitro experiments. Cool substance, cool name, cool idea, but perhaps a little too early to be invoking religious references?

Tags: zorro LNA, zorro locked nucleic acid, gene therapy, genetics, genes, genomics, genome, dna diseases, illness, health, medicine

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Pingback by RD Savage » Blog Archive » Locked Nucleic Acid Silences Genes (& other DNA news)

2007-05-06 15:55:36

[...] Zorro Locked Nucleic Acid Silences Genes, Posted May 2, 2007 Mutated genes beware. Zorro LNA (locked nucleic acid) is in town. [...]

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