Vascular therapeutics

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of preventing or reducing restenosis, neointima formation, graft failure, atherosclerosis, angiogenesis and / or solid tumour growth in a subject. The method comprises administering to the subject a prophylactically effective dose of a nucleic acid which decreases the level of c-Jun mRNA, c-Jun mRNA translation or nuclear accumulation or activity of c-Jun. It is preferred that the nucleic acid is a DNAzyme that targets c-Jun mRNA.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to methods and compositions for reducing or preventing c-Jun mediated cellular processes. In particular, the present invention relates to methods of reducing or preventing neointima formation, atherosclerosis, restenosis, graft failure or angiogenesis involving the use of DNAzymes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The initiating event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and restenosis following angioplasty is injury to cells in the artery wall1. Injury or stress stimulates signalling and transcriptional pathways in vascular smooth muscle cells, stimulating their migration and proliferation and the eventual formation of a neointima. Smooth muscle cell proliferation is a key feature of neointima formation, atherosclerosis, restenosis and graft failure. [0003] c-Jun, a prototypical member of the basic region-leucine zipper protein family, is transiently induced following arterial injury in animal models2,3. c-Jun forms bo...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Thus, gene-targeting strategies that down-regulate c-Jun expression do not necessarily inhibit cell proliferation.

It is clear, however, that the finding that c-Jun, or any other given gene, is inducibly expressed in the artery wall following balloon angioplasty does not necessarily translate to it playing a positive regulatory role in transcription, proliferation or neointima formation.

In human gene therapy, antisense nucleic acid technology has been one of the major tools of choice to inactivate genes whose expression causes disease and is thus undesirable.

Anti-sense technology suffers from certain drawbacks.

This dependence on RNAse H confers limitations on the design of anti-sense molecules regarding their chemistry and ability to form stable heteroduplexes with their target mRNA's.

Anti-sense DNA molecules also suffer from problems associated with non-specific activity and, at higher concentrations, even toxicity.

Ribozymes, however, are highly susceptible to enzymatic hydrolysis within the cells where they are intended to perform their function.

This in turn limits their pharmaceutical applications.

However, DNAzyme success against a disease caused by the presence of a known mRNA molecule is not predictable.

First, certain mRNA secondary structures can impede a DNAzyme's ability to bind to and cleave its target mRNA.

Second, the uptake of a DNAzyme by cells expressing the target mRNA may not be efficient enough to permit therapeutically meaningful results.

Investigation of the precise regulatory role of c-Jun in the injured artery wall and indeed, in other disease settings such as angiogenesis, has been hampered by the lack of a specific pharmacological inhibitor.

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