ABSTRACT

The rationale for AIDS therapy with antisense oligonucleotides is based on the use of oligonucleotides or their analogs complementary to conserved areas of viral genes to specifically inhibit the replication of hum an immunodeficiency virus (HIV-l), the causative agent of AIDS12 3. The antisense oligonucleotide approach to therapy has two theoretical considerations: (1) that the antisense oligonucleotide acts by hybridizing by Watson Crick base pairing with the viral genome, thereby impairing the replication, transcription a n d /o r translation of that strand “hybridization arrest” and (2) that the length of the antisense oligonucleotide should be sufficient to make it unique for the viral genomic segment to be blocked or m odulated, and to provide the hybridization stability to its target well above 37°C body tem perature.