RNA interference mediated inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13) gene expression using short interfering nucleic acid (siNA)

A chemically modified short interfering nucleic acid molecule (siNA), wherein:

• (a) the siNA molecule comprises a sense strand and a separate antisense strand, each strand having one or more pyrimidine nucleotides and one or more purine nucleotides;
• (b) each strand is independently 18 to 23 nucleotides in length;
• (c) the antisense strand is complementary to a human MMP13 RNA sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:429;
• (d) a plurality of the pyrimidine nucleotides present in the sense strand are 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro pyrimidine nucleotides and a plurality of the purine nucleotides present in the sense strand are 2′-deoxy purine nucleotides;
• and,
• (e) a plurality of the pyrimidine nucleotides in the antisense strand are 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro pyrimidine nucleotides and a plurality of the purine nucleotides present in the antisense strand are 2′-O-methyl purine nucleotides.