Reducing levels of toxic RNA with small molecules.

ACS Chem Biol

Institute of Molecular Biology and §Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, United States.

Published: November 2013

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy. DM is an autosomal dominant disease caused by a toxic gain of function RNA. The toxic RNA is produced from expanded noncoding CTG/CCTG repeats, and these CUG/CCUG repeats sequester the Muscleblind-like (MBNL) family of RNA binding proteins. The MBNL proteins are regulators of alternative splicing, and their sequestration has been linked with mis-splicing events in DM. A previously reported screen for small molecules found that pentamidine was able to improve splicing defects associated with DM. Biochemical experiments and cell and mouse model studies of the disease indicate that pentamidine and related compounds may work through binding the CTG*CAG repeat DNA to inhibit transcription. Analysis of a series of methylene linker analogues of pentamidine revealed that heptamidine reverses splicing defects and rescues myotonia in a DM1 mouse model.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4108295PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cb400431fDOI Listing

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