Abstract
Several synthetic siRNAs were designed to target various regions of hepatitis C virus (HCV) replicon RNA. The antiviral efficacies of the siRNAs were compared using real time PCR and western blot assessment. siRNAs targeting either specific coding region of HCV NS3 or NS5B were the most efficacious in terms of gene silencing and inhibitory activity of the HCV replicon replication. There was no activation of genes involved in innate immune response by the HCV-specific siRNA, indicating that HCV replication inhibition was not due to non-specific antiviral response. Moreover, 5′-RACE PCR analysis showed that the silencing effect by the siRNAs was mainly caused by specific cleavage of targeted HCV genomic RNA. These findings suggest that RNAi targeting HCV coding regions could provide a useful approach to anti-HCV treatment.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by grants from the Korea Healthcare Technology R&D Project by the Korean Ministry for Health, Welfare & Family Affairs (A080173). B. Chang, C. H. Lee, and J. H. Lee are recipients of Brain Korea 21 fellowship.
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Purpose of work RNA interference (RNAi), a specific gene silencing process mediated by small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes, has been evaluated as a therapeutic tool against hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Byeongyong Chang and Chang Ho Lee contributed equally.
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Chang, B., Lee, C.H., Lee, J.H. et al. Comparative analysis of intracellular inhibition of hepatitis C virus replication by small interfering RNAs. Biotechnol Lett 32, 1231–1237 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-010-0298-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-010-0298-5