Prospects for antisense peptide nucleic acid (PNA) therapies for HIV

Abstract

Since the discovery and synthesis of a novel DNA mimic, peptide nucleic acid (PNA) in 1991, PNAs have attracted tremendous interest and have shown great promise as potential antisense drugs. They have been used extensively as tools for specific modulation of gene expression by targeting translation or transcription processes. This review discusses the present and future therapeutic potential of this class of compound as anti-HIV-1 drugs.

Keywords::

• AIDS
• HIV-1
• peptide nucleic acid
• virucidal