{"title":"In vitro screening of chemically synthesized dipeptide-antisense oligonucleotide conjugates to identify ligand molecules enhancing their activity","authors":"Takashi Osawa , Ryosuke Kita , Yuuya Kasahara , Harumi Yamaguma , Taisuke Nakayama , Haruhiko Kamada , Satoshi Obika","doi":"10.1016/j.bmc.2024.117814","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Oligonucleotide therapeutics, particularly antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), have emerged as promising candidates in drug discovery. However, their effective delivery to the target tissues and cells remains a challenge, necessitating the development of suitable drug delivery technologies for ASOs to enable their practical application. In this study, we synthesized a library of chemically modified dipeptide-ASO conjugates using a recent synthetic method based on the Ugi reaction. We then conducted <em>in vitro</em> screening of this library using luciferase-expressing cell lines to identify ligands capable of enhancing ASO activity. Our findings suggest that <em>N</em>-(4-nitrophenoxycarbonyl)glycine may interact with the thiophosphate moiety of the phosphorothioate-modification in ASO. Through our screening efforts, we identified two ligands that modestly reduced luciferase luminescence in a cell type-selective manner. Furthermore, quantification of luciferase mRNA levels revealed that one of these promising dipeptide-ASO conjugates markedly suppressed luciferase RNA levels through its antisense effect in prostate-derived DU-145 cells compared to the ASOs without ligand modification.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":255,"journal":{"name":"Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0968089624002281/pdfft?md5=7c74d399586a23d991a8c4024ebec636&pid=1-s2.0-S0968089624002281-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0968089624002281","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Oligonucleotide therapeutics, particularly antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), have emerged as promising candidates in drug discovery. However, their effective delivery to the target tissues and cells remains a challenge, necessitating the development of suitable drug delivery technologies for ASOs to enable their practical application. In this study, we synthesized a library of chemically modified dipeptide-ASO conjugates using a recent synthetic method based on the Ugi reaction. We then conducted in vitro screening of this library using luciferase-expressing cell lines to identify ligands capable of enhancing ASO activity. Our findings suggest that N-(4-nitrophenoxycarbonyl)glycine may interact with the thiophosphate moiety of the phosphorothioate-modification in ASO. Through our screening efforts, we identified two ligands that modestly reduced luciferase luminescence in a cell type-selective manner. Furthermore, quantification of luciferase mRNA levels revealed that one of these promising dipeptide-ASO conjugates markedly suppressed luciferase RNA levels through its antisense effect in prostate-derived DU-145 cells compared to the ASOs without ligand modification.
期刊介绍:
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry provides an international forum for the publication of full original research papers and critical reviews on molecular interactions in key biological targets such as receptors, channels, enzymes, nucleotides, lipids and saccharides.
The aim of the journal is to promote a better understanding at the molecular level of life processes, and living organisms, as well as the interaction of these with chemical agents. A special feature will be that colour illustrations will be reproduced at no charge to the author, provided that the Editor agrees that colour is essential to the information content of the illustration in question.