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Biotech / Medical : RNAi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tuck who wrote (33)	6/3/2003 4:17:56 PM
From: bob zagorin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 671

still trying (as a lay investor) to understand the link between a co. like RNAI and ISIS. as i understand it it, RNAI's tech cleaves the mRNA while anitsense binds to to the target. anyone care to educate me (i'm sure the answer's in that list but much of that stuff is way over my head). here's an excerpt from an ISIS release today as a reference: ".... ABOUT AFFINITAK Affinitak is a selective inhibitor of protein kinase C-alpha (PKC-alpha) expression. The PKC protein family plays a role in normal cell function but may also be involved in abnormal cell growth. Affinitak binds to messenger RNA sequence specific to PKC-alpha and thus selectively inhibits production of this protein without inhibiting production of other proteins in the PKC family. ABOUT ISIS 2503 ISIS 2503 is a molecule known to be involved in the development and maintenance of human cancers. H-ras is a member of the ras family of proteins, which regulate the process by which cells receive and send signals that affect their behavior. Through an antisense mechanism, ISIS 2503 binds to a mRNA sequence specific to Ha-ras, and thus selectively inhibits production of this protein without inhibiting production of other proteins in the ras family. The specificity of antisense technology makes it possible to inhibit a single family member that may play a role in disease while allowing other family members to continue to perform normal cellular functions. This high degree of selectivity may provide antisense drugs substantial advantage over traditional small molecule drugs in many difficult to treat diseases...." thanks.