Nucleic acid hybridization Nucleic acid hybridization In molecular biology, hybridization (or hybridisation) is a phenomenon in which single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules anneal to complementary DNA or RNA. Though a double-stranded DNA sequence is generally stable under physiological conditions, changing these conditions in the laboratory (generally by raising the surrounding temperature) will cause the molecules to separate into single strands. These strands are complementary to each other but may also be complementary to other sequences present in their surroundings. Lowering the surrounding temperature allows the single-stranded molecules to anneal or “hybridize” to each other. DNA replication and transcription of
Bile acid sequestrant acid reabsorption will decrease cholesterol levels, in particular, low-density lipoprotein (commonly known as "bad cholesterol") in blood. Consequently, these drugs have been used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia. Use of these agents as hypolipidemic agents has decreased markedly since the introduction of the statins, which are more efficacious than bile acid sequestrants at lowering LDL. They are occasionally used as an adjunct to the statins as an alternative to the fibrates (another major group of cholesterol-lowering drugs), which are thought to increase the risk of rhabdomyolysis when used with statins. The bile-acid-binding resins can raise triglycerides modestly (about