Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Replication by a Small Interfering RNA Targeting the Leader Sequence.

ABSTRACT: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected almost 200 million people worldwide and led to approximately 4 million deaths as of August 2021. Despite successful vaccine development, treatment options are limited. A promising strategy to specifically target viral infections is to suppress viral replication through RNA interference (RNAi). Hence, we designed eight small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting the highly conserved 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of SARS-CoV-2. The most promising candidate identified in initial reporter assays, termed siCoV6, targets the leader sequence of the virus, which is present in the genomic as well as in all subgenomic RNAs. In assays with infectious SARS-CoV-2, it reduced replication by two orders of magnitude and prevented th

SUBMITTER: Tolksdorf B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8539227 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature