The invention relates to an artificial nucleic acid molecule comprising at least one 5′UTR element which is derived from a TOP gene, at least one open reading frame, and preferably at least one histone stem-loop. Optionally the artificial nucleic acid molecule may further comprise, e.g. a poly(A)sequence, a poyladenylation signal, and/or a 3′UTR. The invention further relates to the use of such an artificial nucleic acid molecule in gene therapy and/or genetic vaccination.