Virologica Sinica 2011;26(1):40-46

doi:10.1007/s12250-011-3162-9

Effect of siRNAs on HSV-1 Plaque Formation and Relative Expression Levels of RR mRNA

Zhe REN ; Shen LI ; Qiaoli WANG ; Yangfei XIANG ; Yunxia CUI ; Yifei WANG ; Renbin QI ; Daxiang LU ; Shumin ZHANG ; Peizhuo ZHANG

Keywords

Small interfering RNA(siRNA); Herpes simplex virus type Ⅰ(HSV-1); Ribonucleotide reductase(RR); Gene

Country

China

Language

Chinese

Abstract

RNA interference(RNAi)is a process by which introduced small interfering RNA(siRNA)can cause the specific degradation of mRNA with identical sequences. The human herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1)RR is composed of two distinct homodimeric subunits encoded by UL39 and UL40, respectively. In this study, we applied siRNAs targeting the UL39 and UL40 genes of HSV-1. We showed that synthetic siRNA silenced effectively and specifically UL39 and UL40 mRNA expression and inhibited HSV-1 replication. Our work offers new possibilities for RNAi as a genetic tool for inhibition of HSV-1 replication.