Inhibition of dengue virus translation and RNA synthesis by a morpholino oligomer targeted to the top of the terminal 3' stem-loop structure

Virology. 2006 Jan 20;344(2):439-52. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2005.08.034. Epub 2005 Oct 7.

Abstract

Dengue virus (DEN) is a major public health problem worldwide and causes a spectrum of diseases, for which no antiviral treatments exist. Peptide-conjugated phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (P-PMOs) complementary to the DEN 5' stem-loop (5'SL) and to the DEN 3' cyclization sequence (3'CS) inhibit DEN replication, presumably by blocking critical RNA-RNA or RNA-protein interactions involved in viral translation and/or RNA synthesis. Here, a third P-PMO, complementary to the top of the 3' stem-loop (3'SLT), inhibited DEN replication in BHK cells. Using a novel DEN2 reporter replicon and a DEN2 reporter mRNA, we determined that the 5'SL P-PMO inhibited viral translation, the 3'CS P-PMO blocked viral RNA synthesis but not viral translation, and the 3'SLT P-PMO inhibited both viral translation and RNA synthesis. These results show that the 3'CS and the 3'SL domains regulate DEN translation and RNA synthesis and further demonstrate that P-PMOs are potentially useful as antiviral agents.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 3' Untranslated Regions / chemistry
  • 3' Untranslated Regions / genetics
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Cell Line
  • Dengue Virus / drug effects*
  • Dengue Virus / genetics*
  • Dengue Virus / growth & development
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / drug effects*
  • Genes, Reporter
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation
  • Oligopeptides / chemistry
  • Oligopeptides / pharmacology*
  • Protein Biosynthesis / drug effects*
  • RNA, Viral / biosynthesis*
  • RNA, Viral / chemistry*
  • Substrate Specificity
  • Virus Replication / drug effects

Substances

  • 3' Untranslated Regions
  • Oligopeptides
  • RNA, Viral