Identification and characterization of three novel small interference RNAs that effectively down-regulate the isolated nucleocapsid gene expression of SARS coronavirus.

ABSTRACT: Nucleocapsid (N) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a major pathological determinant in the host that may cause host cell apoptosis, upregulate the proinflammatory cytokine production, and block innate immune responses. Therefore, N gene has long been thought an ideal target for the design of small interference RNA (siRNA). siRNA is a class of small non-coding RNAs with a size of 21-25nt that functions post-transcriptionally to block targeted gene expression. In this study, we analyzed the N gene coding sequences derived from 16 different isolates, and found that nucleotide deletions and substitutions are mainly located at the first 440nt sequence. Combining previous reports and the above sequence information, we create three novel siRNAs that

SUBMITTER: Cao YL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6259856 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature