PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Laura Ghisolfi AU - Laura Papucci AU - Annamaria Bevilacqua AU - Gianfranco Canti AU - Giuseppe Tataranni AU - Andrea Lapucci AU - Nicola Schiavone AU - Sergio Capaccioli AU - Angelo Nicolin TI - Increased Bcl2 Expression by Antisense Oligoribonucleotides Targeting the Adenine-Uridine-Rich Element Motif AID - 10.1124/mol.105.014357 DP - 2005 Sep 01 TA - Molecular Pharmacology PG - 816--821 VI - 68 IP - 3 4099 - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/68/3/816.short 4100 - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/68/3/816.full SO - Mol Pharmacol2005 Sep 01; 68 AB - RNA has become a promising target for pharmacological purposes. Most current strategies are directed toward down-regulating its functions. In this study, we provide evidence of the up-regulation of messenger RNA in a sequence-specific manner. The bcl2 (b)-ARE (adenine-uridine-rich element) in the 3′-untranslated region of the b-RNA that regulates the rate of RNA degradation has been targeted with three chemically modified oligoribonucleotides designed in the antisense orientation (asORNs). The three asORNs were studied by a cell-free degradation assay. All three slowed the rate of RNA decay in a dose-response fashion, they were specific to the b-ARE, and two of them were individually effective. asORNs were then transfected into the malignant cells in culture and b-RNA half-life was measured by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. We showed that by stabilizing b-RNA the three asORNs increased the expression of b-RNA and of the relevant protein in a dose-response fashion.