Abstract

Fatty acid synthesis is a coordinated process involving multiple enzymes. Overexpression of some of these enzymes plays important roles in tumor growth and development. Therefore, these enzymes are attractive targets for cancer therapies. Antisense agents provide highly specific inhibition of the expression of target genes and thus have served as powerful tools for gene functional studies and potential therapeutic agents for cancers. This article reviews different types of antisense agents and their applications in the modulation of fatty acid synthesis. Patents of antisense agents targeting fatty acid synthetic enzymes are introduced. In addition, miR-122 has been shown to regulate the expression of fatty acid synthetic enzymes, and thus antisense agent patents that inhibit miR-122 expression are also discussed.

Keywords: Acetyl-CoA carboxylase, antisense nucleotide, ATP citrate lyase, fatty acid synthesis, fatty acid synthetase, lipogenesis, miRNA-122, siRNAs