Antisense Oligonucleotide: A Potential Therapeutic Intervention for Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health issue that places an increasing burden on the healthcare systems of both the developed and developing countries. CKD is a progressive and irreversible condition, affecting approximately 10% of the population worldwide. Patients that have progressed to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) require expensive renal replacement therapy, i.e., dialysis or kidney transplantation. Current CKD therapy largely relies on the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). However, these treatments by no means halt the progression of CKD to ESRD. Therefore, the development of new therapies is urgently needed. Antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) has recently attracted considerable interest as a drug development platform. Thus far, eight ASO-based drugs have been granted approval by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of various diseases. Herein, we review the ASOs developed for the identification of CKD-relevant genes and/or the simultaneous development of the ASOs as potential therapeutics towards treating CKD.