Development and comparison of procedures for the selection of delta ribozyme cleavage sites within the hepatitis B virus.

ABSTRACT: Delta ribozyme possesses several unique features related to the fact that it is the only catalytic RNA known to be naturally active in human cells. This makes it attractive as a therapeutic tool for the inactivation of clinically relevant RNAs. However, several hurdles must be overcome prior to the development of useful gene-inactivation systems based on delta ribozyme. We have developed three procedures for the selection of potential delta ribozyme target sites within the hepatitis B virus (HBV) pregenome: (i) the use of bioinformatic tools coupled to biochemical assays; (ii) RNase H hydrolysis with a pool of oligonucleotides; and (iii) cleavage assays with a pool of ribozymes. The results obtained with delta ribozyme show that these procedures are governed by several rules, some of which

SUBMITTER: Bergeron LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC135815 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature