Inhibition Of Influenza A Virus Replication By Dnazyme In Vitro

BackgroundInfluenza virus (IFV) is one of the common pathogens causing the upper and lower respiratiory tract infection. But existing vaccines and drugs are limited in prevention and treatment of influenza infection as the frequent changes of viral antigens or their side effects and the possible emergence of drug-resistant variants. Thus, there is an urgnt need for searching new strategies to prevent and treat influenza virus infection. Influenza virus is a negtive single strand RNA virus with eight segments. PB1 is one of the subunits of RNA polymerase. It is smaller various and possess the activity of RNA polymerase. Then it can be used as one of the agent targets of antiviral research. Now it has been reported (abroad) that antisense oligonucleotide targeting to PB1-mRNA could inhibit the reprodution of influenza virus and got the better cutting effect in cell free system.Deoxyribozyme (DZ) is a novel approach which is being developed to specifically cleave RNA molecules. The most prominent DZ named"10-23"DZ consists of a catalytic core and two flanking arms. The RNA substrate is cleaved at a particular location between an unpaired purine (A or G) and a paired pyrimidine residue (C or U) with DZ. From the first example of a DZ that could cleave RNA, biologists have built DZs for wide-ranging applications in suppressing the expression of a variety of target genes in viral infectious diseases, tumor and cardiovascular diseases.But DZ targeted to the start codon of influenza virus PB1mRNA...