Therapeutic agent for fibrosis
Disclosed is a phosphorylation inhibitor of SMAD2/3 protein or a therapeutic agent for fibrosis which contains as an active ingredient, a nucleic acid that suppresses NEK6 (NIMA-related serine/threonine kinase 6) gene expression.
1. A method for treating fibrosis, comprising:
administering to a subject in need thereof a therapeutically-effective amount of a nucleic acid molecule having a guide strand and a passenger strand,
wherein the number of nucleotides in the guide strand and in the passenger strand are each 19- to 50-nt, and
wherein the guide strand includes a sequence suppressing expression, the sequence suppressing expression being complementary to NEK6 gene, to thereby suppress NEK6 gene expression.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid molecule is a single-strand nucleic acid molecule forming a hairpin RNA structure.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the guide strand forms an overhanging end.
4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fibrosis is pulmonary fibrosis, hepatic fibrosis, or kidney fibrosis.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the number of nucleotides in the guide strand and in the passenger strand are each 19- to 30-nt.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the number of nucleotides in the guide strand and in the passenger strand are each 19- to 25-nt.
7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the number of nucleotides in the guide strand and in the passenger strand are each 19- to 23-nt.