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Antisenses working overtime in lipids

Antisense oligonucleotides have proven effective at preventing protein synthesis as a result of their on-target specificity. Recent data from several clinical trials including a phase I trial targeting Lp(a), published in The Lancet, highlight the therapeutic potential of antisense oligonucleotides in regulating plasma lipid levels.

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Figure 1: Targeted action of apo(a) ASO.

References

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Acknowledgements

R.A.H. is supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Foundation Program), the Heart and Stroke Foundation (Project G-15-0009214), and Genome Canada (through Genome Quebec). S.M.K.F. is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship.

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Correspondence to Robert A. Hegele.

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R.A.H. consults for Aegerion, Amgen, Boston Heart Diagnostics, ISIS, Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. S.M.K.F. declares no competing interests.

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Farhan, S., Hegele, R. Antisenses working overtime in lipids. Nat Rev Endocrinol 11, 574–576 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2015.146

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