Locked nucleic acids have efficiently suppressed telomerase activity in cells
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Locked nucleic acids have efficiently suppressed telomerase activity in cells (a critical task for cancer fighting on a genetic level) and have prevented Tatdependent transcription, and thus the spread of cancers. Locked nucleic acids have been used to modify DNAzymes to create LNAzymes, and these have been shown highly useful in efficiently cleaving highly structured RNA[1]. Locked nucleic acid (LNA) is a novel class of DNA analogues and was invented by Professor Jesper Wengel,University of Copenhagen & Dr.Poul Nielsen,Odense University in 1996[3]. The LNA monomer is a bicyclic compound in which the 2’ & 4’ positions of the furanose ring are linked by an O-methylene (oxy-LNA),S-methylene (thio-LNA) or NH-methylene moiety (amino LNA). This linkage restricts the conformational freedom of the furanose ring and hence the name a locked nucleic acid.