Hepatitis C virus belongs to the group of particularly dangerous and most extensively studied RNA viruses. Since no vaccine for HCV is known and post-exposure treatment of infected patients has not been yet optimal, novel therapeutic strategies are being developed very intensively. Oligonucleotide-based molecular tools such as antisense oligonucleotides, ribozymes, DNAzymes, aptamers and interfering RNAs are proving as effective modulators of gene expression and potential therapeutics. Several examples of oligonucleotide-based molecular tools directed towards HCV viral RNA are discussed in this review.
Over the last decade, antisense oligodeoxynucleotides and ribozymes have emerged as valuable biochemical tools and promising therapeutic reagents in medicine. This review describes the basic principles of their use in the strategy of directed RNA degradation. The rules for the rational choice of targeted RNA sequences, the properties of available RNA cleaving tools, as well as the major problems that limit the effectiveness of this new technology, are discussed. Selected examples of the successful use of antisense oligonucleotides and ribozymes as antiviral agents are presented.
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