Two Examples of RNA Aptamers with Antiviral Activity. Are Aptamers the Wished Antiviral Drugs?

Two Examples of RNA Aptamers with Antiviral Activity. Are Aptamers the Wished Antiviral Drugs?

Alfredo Berzal-Herranz, Cristina Romero-López

The current Covid-19 pandemic has pointed out some major deficiencies of the even most advanced societies to fight against viral RNA infections. Once more, it has been demonstrated that there is a lack of efficient drugs to control RNA viruses. Aptamers are efficient ligands of a great variety of molecules including proteins and nucleic acids. Their specificity and mechanism of action make them very promising molecules for interfering with the function encoded in viral RNA genomes. RNA viruses store essential information in conserved structural genomic RNA elements that promote important steps for the consecution of the infective cycle. This work describes two well documented examples of RNA aptamers with antiviral activity against highly conserved structural domains of the HIV-1 and HCV RNA genome, respectively, performed in our laboratory. They are two good examples that illustrate the potential of the aptamers to fill the therapeutic gaps in the fight against RNA viruses.

2020

aptamers, functional rna domains, antiviral RNAs, viral RNA genome, RNA tools, RNA structure/function

10.3390/ph13080157

Epidemiology and Health

Korean Society of Epidemiology

Medicine, Pharmacy and materia medica