Key result
Oligonucleotide-based strategies, including ASOs, siRNAs, miRNAs, and catalytic nucleic acids, offer promising approaches for inhibiting Influenza A virus replication by targeting conserved viral RNA.
Why the study?
Rapid antigenic changes and viral RNA recombination reduce the effectiveness of vaccination and anti-influenza drugs, necessitating new antiviral therapeutics and strategies targeting viral RNA.
Viral RNA secondary structure information is advantageous in predicting therapeutic targets for novel anti-influenza strategies.
Influenza is an important research subject around the world because of its threat to humanity. Influenza A virus (IAV) causes seasonal epidemics and sporadic, but dangerous pandemics. A rapid antigen changes and recombination of the viral RNA genome contribute to the reduced effectiveness of vaccination and anti-influenza drugs. Hence, there is a necessity to develop new antiviral drugs and strategies to limit the influenza spread. IAV is a single-stranded negative sense RNA virus with a genome (viral RNA-vRNA) consisting of eight segments. Segments within influenza virion are assembled into viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) complexes that are independent transcription-replication units. Each step in the influenza life cycle is regulated by the RNA and is dependent on its interplay and dynamics. Therefore, viral RNA can be a proper target to design novel therapeutics. Here, we briefly described examples of anti-influenza strategies based on the antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), small interfering RNA (siRNA), microRNA (miRNA) and catalytic nucleic acids. In particular we focused on the vRNA structure-function relationship as well as presented the advantages of using secondary structure information in predicting therapeutic targets and the potential future of this field.
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Szabat et al. (2020) conducted a review in Influenza A Virus Infection. Oligonucleotide-based therapeutics was evaluated. Oligonucleotide-based strategies, including ASOs, siRNAs, miRNAs, and catalytic nucleic acids, offer promising approaches for inhibiting Influenza A virus replication by targeting conserved viral RNA.
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