Translational readthrough induction of pathogenic nonsense mutations

The treatment of genetic disorders is one of the biggest challenges lying ahead of modem medicine. While major advancements have been made in gene therapy, it is still. far, from achieving clinical success. However, other potential methods for treating single gene related diseases have also emerged recently. One such approach is the suppression of pathogenic nonsense mutations through inducing translational readthrough of the in-frame premature stop mutation. Aminoglycosides were the first drugs that gave promising results in this respect. This report provides a brief overview on the past, present and potential future of this pharmacogenetic approach. (c) 2006 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.