Inhibition of the Friend retrovirus by antisense oligonucleotides. Indirect evidence for the necessity of forced cellular uptake

A journey through the emergence of nanomedicines with poly(alkylcyanoacrylate) based nanoparticles

Starting in the late 1970s, the pioneering work of Patrick Couvreur gave birth to the first biodegradable nanoparticles composed of a biodegradable synthetic polymer. These nanoparticles, made of poly(alkylcyanoacrylate) (PACA), were the first synthetic polymer-based nanoparticulate drug carriers undergoing a phase III clinical trial so far. Analyzing the journey from the birth of PACA nanoparticles to their clinical evaluation, this paper highlights their remarkable adaptability to bypass various drug delivery challenges found on the way. At present, PACA nanoparticles include a wide range of nanoparticles that can associate drugs of different chemical nature and can be administered in vivo by different routes. The most recent technologies giving the nanoparticles customised functions could also be implemented on this family of nanoparticles. Through different examples, this paper discusses the seminal role of the PACA nanoparticles' family in the development of nanomedicines.

Triple-helices targeted to the polypurine tract of a murine retrovirus

The all-purine 13-mer oligodeoxyribonucleotide d(GGGGGGAAAAAGA), containing an unusually large block of contiguous guanines, was shown by electrophoresis and thermoelution to form a specific, 'antiparallel' complex with the duplex containing the polypurine tract of murine retroviruses. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and molecular modeling indicated that the complex is based on reverse Hoogsteen G(GC) and A(AT) triplets, with anti orientations of the bases and with all the strands having S-type sugar conformations. This G + A-containing 13-mer and a G + T-containing 22-mer, d(TGTTTGTTTGGGGGGTTTTTGT), aimed at the same target, retarded in a sequence-specific manner the spreading of the Friend retrovirus in Dunni cells infected de novo, thus indicating that the polypurine tract of retroviruses may be a suitable target for anti-gene action.