The BHF discuss Antisense Oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies in an interview with CureHeart PI Matthew Wood

In the wide ranging interview on the BHF website, Professor Matthew Wood discusses his scientific background in neuro muscular disorders and how he has made the leap to genetic therapy development in the cardiovascular system, with the help of the BHF Big Beat Challenge award.

Professor Wood’s group are the main developers of antisense oligonucleotide technologies or ASOs for short. He explains how they work to stop mutant protein being made from faulty genes by intercepting the message molecules (mRNA) that translates DNA into a functional protein.

This is an attractive approach to generate a “first-in-man” treatment for inherited cardiomyopathies by targeting these molecules to the heart and tweaking their chemistry to provide a long-term silencing treatment

You can read more from Professor Wood as well as previous interviews with CureHeart researchers here