Enhanced Cellular Uptake of G-Rich Oligonucleotides

Abstract Sequence-dependency of cellular uptake of oligonucleotides into Vero cells has been studied. Cellular uptake of 5′-[35S]-labelled homopolymers decreased in the order (dG)16 >> (dT)16> (dA)16 > (dC)16. The change of two base-pairs (dG → dA) in a dG-rich antisense oligonucleotide with good antiviral activity dramatically decreased cellular uptake and abolished antiviral activity.