The discovery of ribozymes by Cech and Altman has fundamentally changed the view of the function of RNA in chemistry, biology, and medicine (1–3). Prior to this discovery, RNA had been viewed as a passive molecule that only carried information or provided structure to RNA-protein complexes. It is now clear that RNA can act as an enzyme and is capable of catalyzing RNA splicing and cleavage, as ...

As alterations in gene expression have become a better understood component of normal development and disease pathogenesis, transcription factors and other regulators of gene expression have become an increasingly attractive target for potential therapeutic intervention. Transcription factors are generally nuclear proteins that play a critical role in gene regulation and can exert either a posi...

Nucleic acids and protein prepared from Sarcoma 180, from Ehrlich ascites tumor, from NCTC 929 cells derived from strain L, and from normal mouse liver, when injected subcutaneously in mice with cultured viable NCTC 929 strain L cells, oc casionally induce cytologie atypia in the NCTC 929 cells, characterized by giant cells, abnormal cytoplasmic shapes and staining, large nuclei, and prominence...

Since the discovery of the structure of the DNA double helix in 1953 by Watson and Crick [1], we know that DNA is of critical importance, carrying the genetic information for all living organisms. Only a few years later appeared the first reports on the chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides with a natural 3'-5' phosphodiester linker by Michelsen and Todd [2]. It took another two decades until ...

We report an easy-to-use, 384-pin handheld arraying and replicating device (ARD) for constructing high-density replicas of nucleic acids and E. coli transformants. We have modified an existing 384-pin tool to include a novel guide system to ensure vertical pin movement and enhance reproducibility. An asymmetric rectangular multiplexing frame is designed to increase the array density to 1536 dot...

In this review, we have summarized evaluation methods for the analysis of external stimuli-mediated nucleic acid and gene delivery. Prior to reviewing these evaluation methods, we describe various delivery processes of nucleic acid and gene medicines (small interfering RNA (siRNA), micro RNA, mRNA, plasmid DNA, etc.), which include interaction with blood components, bio-distribution, dispositio...

The discovery of natural RNA catalysts (ribozymes) inspired the use of in vitro selection methodology to develop artificial functional nucleic acids. In vitro selection is the experimental process by which large random-sequence pools of RNA or DNA are used as the starting point to identify particular nucleic acid sequences that have desired functions. When this function is binding of a molecula...

The formation of hydrogen bonded complexes between nucleic acid bases and acetamide has been studied by nuclear magnetic resonance in CDC13 at different temperatures. Pairs of hydrogen bonds are formed when acetamide binds to nucleic acid bases. Thermodynamic parameters have been computed and compared to those obtained for the association of carboxylic acids with nucleic acid bases. The role of...

Levene and Jacobs have formulated the structure of yeast nucleic acid as a tetranucleotide. The facts that led up to their formulation were: 1. The formation of four nucleosides on neutral or ammonia hydrolysis. 2. The formation of simpler nucleotides on hydrolysis with dilute mineral acids. 3. The presence of a phosphorus to nitrogen ratio which agreed quite well for t.he tetranucleotide theor...