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Advances in Vascular Medicine pp 5–23Cite as

Oligonucleotide Therapeutics to Treat Dyslipoproteinemia and Atherosclerosis

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Abstract

Oligonucleotides, whether synthesized or generated by selective enrichment strategies, are long-established research tools. A decade ago, new production and in vivo delivery techniques saw them emerge as a novel class of molecular therapeutics, and this advancement has evolved rapidly, driven by noteworthy discoveries that enlightened our understanding of gene function in disease pathogenesis. RNA aptamers and short interfering RNA (siRNA) are at the forefront of clinical development, but other technologies offer additional promise. Here, we focus on three distinct oligonucleotide therapies, which nevertheless have potential to treat dyslipoproteinemias and atherosclerosis: RNA interference, exon skipping, and oligonucleotide-directed gene editing. The first two are now recognized examples of antisense oligonucleotide technology for manipulating gene expression, while targeted gene editing is an unexpected development, uniquely suited for the safe introduction of small, permanent changes into a cell’s genome.

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Acknowledgments

Dr Papaioannou was supported by a British Heart Foundation project grant (PG/06/015/20305).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Royal Free and University College Medical School, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London, NW3 2PF, UK

    Ioannis Papaioannou & James S. Owen

Authors
  1. Ioannis Papaioannou
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  2. James S. Owen
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Correspondence to James S. Owen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

    David Abraham

  2. The Royal Free & Univ College Med School, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

    Handler Clive

  3. University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

    Michael Dashwood

  4. The Royal Free & Univ College Med School, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

    Gerry Coghlan

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag London

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Papaioannou, I., Owen, J.S. (2009). Oligonucleotide Therapeutics to Treat Dyslipoproteinemia and Atherosclerosis. In: Abraham, D., Clive, H., Dashwood, M., Coghlan, G. (eds) Advances in Vascular Medicine. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-637-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-637-3_1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84882-637-3

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