Using polyamide nucleic acid oligomers to engender a biological response

Abstract

The invention involves methods and materials for extracellularly administering PNA oligomers to living cells. Specifically, the invention provides methods and materials of treating living cells with PNA oligomers such that the oligomers cross biological barriers and engender a biological response in a sequence specific manner. In addition, the invention provides methods and materials for orally administering PNA oligomers to animals such that the oligomers cross biological barriers and engender a biological response in a sequence specific manner. The invention also provides sense and antisense PNA oligomers that modulate transcription and translation, respectively. The invention also provides mismatch PNA oligomers that modulate the degree of an engendered biological response. In addition, the invention provides methods and materials for detecting PNA oligomers within a biological sample collected from an animal. Further, the invention provides methods and materials for screening potential PNA oligomers for the ability to engender a sequence specific biological response. Further, the invention provides methods of identifying the function of polypeptides and of determining the relative turnover rate of functional polypeptides.

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         15 . A method of treating cells present in a mammal, said method comprising extracellularly administering to said cells polyamide nucleic acid oligomers under conditions wherein said polyamide nucleic acid oligomers engender a biological response in a sequence specific manner, wherein said polyamide nucleic acid oligomers contain a neutral amide backbone linkage, wherein said polyamide nucleic acid oligomers contain a sequence complementary to a target nucleic acid present in said mammal, and wherein said biological response is associated with said target nucleic acid.