NOVEL ANTISENSE OLIGOMERS AND USE THEREOF

摘要

The invention relates to the use of a novel type of antisense oligomers for use in the in vitro or in vivo inhibition of gene expression of a target gene. These oligomers, called exon-bridging oligomers are complementary to those parts of a spliced mRNA which are derived from two adjacent exons in the primary RNA transcript, and are called exon-bridging antisense oligomers. These oligomers have no complimentarity to genomic DNA. These oligomers can be used to performs antisense inhibition with less aspecific binding to genomic DNA. The exon-bridging oligomers are suitable for inhibiting Interleukin1 type I Receptor in, for instance, chondrocytes, and are suitable for the prevention or treatment of osteoarthritis.