A novel ribozyme-based prophylaxis inhibits influenza A virus replication and protects from severe disease.

Influenza A virus seasonal outbreaks and occasional pandemics represent a global health threat. The high genetic instability of this virus permits rapid escape from the host immune system and emergence of resistance to antivirals. There is thus an urgent need to develop novel approaches for efficien...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Julie Motard, Ronan Rouxel, Alexandra Paun, Veronika von Messling, Martin Bisaillon, Jean-Pierre Perreault
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0027327&type=printable
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849470486365339648
author Julie Motard
Ronan Rouxel
Alexandra Paun
Veronika von Messling
Martin Bisaillon
Jean-Pierre Perreault
author_facet Julie Motard
Ronan Rouxel
Alexandra Paun
Veronika von Messling
Martin Bisaillon
Jean-Pierre Perreault
author_sort Julie Motard
collection DOAJ
description Influenza A virus seasonal outbreaks and occasional pandemics represent a global health threat. The high genetic instability of this virus permits rapid escape from the host immune system and emergence of resistance to antivirals. There is thus an urgent need to develop novel approaches for efficient treatment of newly emerging strains. Based on a sequence alignment of representatives from every subtype known to infect humans, we identified nucleic acid regions that are conserved amongst these influenza A populations. We then engineered SOFA-HDV-Ribozymes as therapeutic tools recognizing these conserved regions to catalytically cleave the corresponding viral mRNA targets. The most promising ribozymes were chosen based on an initial in silico screening, and their efficacy was assessed using in vitro cleavage assays. Further characterization of their antiviral effect in cell culture and in mice led to the gradual identification of prophylactic SOFA-HDV-Ribozyme combinations, providing proof-of-principle for the potential of this novel strategy to develop antivirals against genetically highly variable viruses.
format Article
id doaj-art-4bfdc9cb97464ac2b6859e7d44e0081d
institution Kabale University
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2011-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-4bfdc9cb97464ac2b6859e7d44e0081d2025-08-20T03:25:08ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032011-01-01611e2732710.1371/journal.pone.0027327A novel ribozyme-based prophylaxis inhibits influenza A virus replication and protects from severe disease.Julie MotardRonan RouxelAlexandra PaunVeronika von MesslingMartin BisaillonJean-Pierre PerreaultInfluenza A virus seasonal outbreaks and occasional pandemics represent a global health threat. The high genetic instability of this virus permits rapid escape from the host immune system and emergence of resistance to antivirals. There is thus an urgent need to develop novel approaches for efficient treatment of newly emerging strains. Based on a sequence alignment of representatives from every subtype known to infect humans, we identified nucleic acid regions that are conserved amongst these influenza A populations. We then engineered SOFA-HDV-Ribozymes as therapeutic tools recognizing these conserved regions to catalytically cleave the corresponding viral mRNA targets. The most promising ribozymes were chosen based on an initial in silico screening, and their efficacy was assessed using in vitro cleavage assays. Further characterization of their antiviral effect in cell culture and in mice led to the gradual identification of prophylactic SOFA-HDV-Ribozyme combinations, providing proof-of-principle for the potential of this novel strategy to develop antivirals against genetically highly variable viruses.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0027327&type=printable
spellingShingle Julie Motard
Ronan Rouxel
Alexandra Paun
Veronika von Messling
Martin Bisaillon
Jean-Pierre Perreault
A novel ribozyme-based prophylaxis inhibits influenza A virus replication and protects from severe disease.
PLoS ONE
title A novel ribozyme-based prophylaxis inhibits influenza A virus replication and protects from severe disease.
title_full A novel ribozyme-based prophylaxis inhibits influenza A virus replication and protects from severe disease.
title_fullStr A novel ribozyme-based prophylaxis inhibits influenza A virus replication and protects from severe disease.
title_full_unstemmed A novel ribozyme-based prophylaxis inhibits influenza A virus replication and protects from severe disease.
title_short A novel ribozyme-based prophylaxis inhibits influenza A virus replication and protects from severe disease.
title_sort novel ribozyme based prophylaxis inhibits influenza a virus replication and protects from severe disease
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0027327&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT juliemotard anovelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT ronanrouxel anovelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT alexandrapaun anovelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT veronikavonmessling anovelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT martinbisaillon anovelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT jeanpierreperreault anovelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT juliemotard novelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT ronanrouxel novelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT alexandrapaun novelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT veronikavonmessling novelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT martinbisaillon novelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease
AT jeanpierreperreault novelribozymebasedprophylaxisinhibitsinfluenzaavirusreplicationandprotectsfromseveredisease