Treatment of interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) related diseases by inhibition of natural antisense transcript to IRF8

• US 9,834,767 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2014
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CURNA, Inc. (Opko Health, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CURNA, Inc. (Opko Health, Inc.)
• Inventors: Collard, Joseph, Khorkova Sherman, Olga
• Primary Examiner(s): VIVLEMORE, TRACY ANN
• Application Number:
  US14/582,412
• Publication Number:
  US 20150119451A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,077 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 31/7088 Compounds having three or more nucleosides or nucleotides
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 1/02 Stomatological preparations, e.g. drugs for caries, aphtae, periodontitis
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 19/02 for joint disorders, e.g. arthritis, arthrosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 19/08 for bone diseases, e.g. rachitism, Paget's disease
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 19/10 for osteoporosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 25/00 Drugs for disorders of the nervous system
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 29/00 Non-central analgesic, antipyretic or antiinflammatory agents, e.g. antirheumatic agents; Non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs [NSAID]
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 3/00 Drugs for disorders of the metabolism of the blood or the extracellular fluid A61P7/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 31/18 for HIV
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 35/00 Antineoplastic agents
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 35/02 specific for leukemia
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 37/00 Drugs for immunological or allergic disorders
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 37/02 Immunomodulators
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 43/00 Drugs for specific purposes, not provided for in groups A61P1/00-A61P41/00
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 15/113 Non-coding nucleic acids modulating the expression of genes, e.g. antisense oligonucleotides; Antisense DNA or RNA; Triplex- forming oligonucleotides; Catalytic nucleic acids, e.g. ribozymes; Nucleic acids used in co-suppression or gene silencing when used in plants C12N15/8218
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2310/113 targeting other non-coding nucleic acids, e.g. antagomirs
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2310/14 interfering N.A.
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/6876 Nucleic acid products used in the analysis of nucleic acids, e.g. primers or probes
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2600/136 Screening for pharmacological compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2600/178 miRNA, siRNA or ncRNA

Abstract

The present invention relates to antisense oligonucleotides that modulate the expression of and/or function of Interferon Regulatory Factor 8 (IRF8), in particular, by targeting natural antisense polynucleotides of Interferon Regulatory Factor 8 (IRF8). The invention also relates to the identification of these antisense oligonucleotides and their use in treating diseases and disorders associated with the expression of IRF8.

Claims

1. A synthetic, modified oligonucleotide of 12-30 nucleotides in length comprising at least one optional modification wherein the at least one modification is selected from:

at least one modified sugar moiety;

at least one modified internucleotide linkage;

at least one modified nucleotide, and combinations thereof;

wherein said oligonucleotide is an antisense compound which specifically hybridizes to a complementary region of a natural antisense polynucleotide of the Interferon Regulatory Factor 8 (IRF8) polynucleotide selected from SEQ ID NO;

2 and upregulates the function and/or expression of a Interferon Regulatory Factor 8 (IRF8) gene in vivo or in vitro as compared to a normal control.

2. The oligonucleotide of claim 1, wherein the at least one modification comprises an internucleotide linkage selected from the group consisting of:

phosphorothioate, alkylphosphonate, phosphorodithioate, alkylphosphonothioate, phosphoramidate, carbamate, carbonate, phosphate triester, acetamidate, carboxymethyl ester, and combinations thereof.

3. The oligonucleotide of claim 1, wherein said oligonucleotide comprises at least one phosphorothioate internucleotide linkage.

4. The oligonucleotide of claim 1, wherein said oligonucleotide comprises a backbone of phosphorothioate internucleotide linkages.

5. The oligonucleotide of claim 1, wherein the oligonucleotide comprises at least one modified nucleotide, said modified nucleotide selected from:

a peptide nucleic acid, a locked nucleic acid (LNA), analogue, derivative, and a combination thereof.

6. The oligonucleotide of claim 1, wherein the oligonucleotide comprises a plurality of modifications, wherein said modifications comprise modified nucleotides selected from:

phosphorothioate, alkylphosphonate, phosphorodithioate, alkylphosphonothioate, phosphoramidate, carbamate, carbonate, phosphate triester, acetamidate, carboxymethyl ester, and a combination thereof.

7. The oligonucleotide of claim 1, wherein the oligonucleotide comprises a plurality of modifications, wherein said modifications comprise modified nucleotides selected from:

peptide nucleic acids, locked nucleic acids (LNA), analogues, derivatives, and a combination thereof.

8. The oligonucleotide of claim 1, wherein the oligonucleotide comprises at least one modified sugar moiety selected from:

a 2′

-O-methoxyethyl modified sugar moiety, a 2′

-methoxy modified sugar moiety, a 2′

-O-alkyl modified sugar moiety, a bicyclic sugar moiety, and a combination thereof.

9. The oligonucleotide of claim 1, wherein the oligonucleotide comprises a plurality of modifications, wherein said modifications comprise modified sugar moieties selected from:

a 2′

-O-methoxyethyl modified sugar moiety, a 2′

-methoxy modified sugar moiety, a 2′

-O-alkyl modified sugar moiety, a bicyclic sugar moiety, and a combination thereof.

10. The oligonucleotide of claim 1, wherein the oligonucleotide comprises the sequences set forth as SEQ ID NOS:

3, 4 and 6.

11. A composition comprising one or more oligonucleotides according to claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

12. The composition of claim 11, wherein the oligonucleotides have at least about 95% sequence identity as compared to any one of the nucleotide sequences set forth as SEQ ID NOS:

3, 4 and 6.

13. The composition of claim 11, wherein the oligonucleotides comprise nucleotide sequences set forth as SEQ ID NOS:

3, 4 and 6.

14. The composition of claim 13, wherein the oligonucleotides set forth as SEQ ID NOS:

3, 4 and 6 comprise one or more modifications or substitutions.

15. The composition of claim 14, wherein the one or more modifications are selected from:

phosphorothioate, methylphosphonate, peptide nucleic acid, locked nucleic acid (LNA) molecules, and combinations thereof.