Design and application of antisense oligonucleotides in cell culture, in vivo, and as therapeutic agents.

1. Synthetic oligonucleotides can inhibit the expression of a gene in a sequence specific manner on the transcriptional and translational level. These molecules are usually referred to as antisense oligonucleotides. 2. Antisense mediated inhibition of gene expression is a valuable tool to analyze the function of a gene in vivo and can also be used for therapeutic gene suppression. 3. A number of factors such as the mode of action, specificity, chemistry, and pharmacology must be carefully considered for the design and successful application of antisense oligonucleotides. 4. Assay systems and controls must be chosen as to assure that the observed biological effects of antisense oligonucleotides do in fact reflect the result of a specific gene inhibition. 5. This article critically discusses these factors in view of the literature and our own experience with a wide range of cell types and animal models, targeting different genes. The emphasis is on the use of phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides in cell cultures, in vivo, and as potential drugs.