Short report

Optimal design and validation of antiviral siRNA for targeting HIV-1

Yuki Naito¹ , Kyoko Nohtomi² , Toshinari Onogi² , Rie Uenishi² , Kumiko Ui-Tei¹ , Kaoru Saigo¹ and Yutaka Takebe²

¹  Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

²  Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Epidemiology, AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8640, Japan

author email corresponding author email

Retrovirology 2007, 4:80doi:10.1186/1742-4690-4-80

Published:	8 November 2007

Abstract

We propose rational designing of antiviral short-interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting highly divergent HIV-1. In this study, conserved regions within HIV-1 genomes were identified through an exhaustive computational analysis, and the functionality of siRNAs targeting the highest possible conserved regions was validated. We present several promising antiviral siRNA candidates that effectively inhibited multiple subtypes of HIV-1 by targeting the best conserved regions in pandemic HIV-1 group M strains.