Development of the 12-Base Short Dimeric Myogenetic Oligodeoxynucleotide That Induces Myogenic Differentiation.

A myogenetic oligodeoxynucleotide (myoDN), iSN04 (5'-AGA TTA GGG TGA GGG TGA-3'), is a single-stranded 18-base telomeric DNA that serves as an anti-nucleolin aptamer and induces myogenic differentiation, which is expected to be a nucleic acid drug for the prevention of disease-associated muscle wasting. To improve the drug efficacy and synthesis cost of myoDN, shortening the sequence while maintaining its structure-based function is a major challenge. Here, we report the novel 12-base non-telomeric myoDN, iMyo01 (5'-TTG GGT GGG GAA-3'), which has comparable myogenic activity to iSN04.