biostudies-literatureHuber HFNational Institutes of Health1012https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8539335biostudies-literatureUnknown14(10)The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants is cause for concern, because these may become resistant to current vaccines and antiviral drugs in development. Current drugs target viral proteins, resulting in a critical need for RNA-targeted nanomedicines. To address this, a comparative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed. Several highly conserved sites were identified, of which the most noteworthy is a partial homopurine palindrome site with >99% conservation within the coding region. This sequence was compared among recently emerged, highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 variants. Conservation of the site was maintained among these emerging variants, further contributing to its potential as a regulatory target site for SARS-CoV-2. RNAfold was used to predict the structures of the highly conservePharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Variants with Nucleic Acid Therapeutic Nanoparticle Conjugates.PMC8539335T35OD029981Huber HFDelong RKMillagaha Gedara NINava-Chavez JJaberi-Douraki MDeVader SXu XAparicio-Lopez CGaudreault NNfalseTargeting SARS-CoV-2 Variants with Nucleic Acid Therapeutic Nanoparticle Conjugates.The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants is cause for concern, because these may become resistant to current vaccines and antiviral drugs in development. Current drugs target viral proteins, resulting in a critical need for RNA-targeted nanomedicines. To address this, a comparative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed. Several highly conserved sites were identified, of which the most noteworthy is a partial homopurine palindrome site with >99% conservation within the coding region. This sequence was compared among recently emerged, highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 variants. Conservation of the site was maintained among these emerging variants, further contributing to its potential as a regulatory target site for SARS-CoV-2. RNAfold was used to predict the structures of the highly conserve2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Oct2026-06-13T03:23:21.746Z2025-02-19T03:53:22.724ZS-EPMC85393353468123610.3390/ph14101012