Antisense and kidney cell research.

Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides offer the potential to block the expression of specific genes with the goal of altering the phenotypic behavior of the cell. Antisense technology has attracted special interest as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of genetic disorders, viral infections, and most recently proliferative diseases such as glomerular kidney disease. This technique has recently been used for in vitro and in vivo studies in renal cells. The use of antisense technology has been applied in vitro to help define both the normal mechanisms of specific ion transport and function and the pathobiological processes leading to glomerular proliferation and matrix formation. Most promising are the recent uses of antisense technology in vivo that have been used to treat the damaged peritoneum and alter glomerular remodeling in experimental animal models. It is hoped that widespread use of antisense will not only provide new insight into the normal regulatory behavior of the kidney cells but also allow one to develop therapeutic strategies to treat kidney disease.