title: Inhibition of herpes simplex virus replication by antisense oligo-2'-O-methylribonucleoside methylphosphonates.
abstract: Antisense oligonucleoside methylphosphonates complementary to the 12 nucleotides found at the intron/exon junction of the splice acceptor site of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) immediate early mRNAs 4 and 5 were synthesized. The methylphosphonate oligomers contained either 2'-deoxyribose nucleosides, d-OMPs, or 2'O-methylribose nucleosides, mr-OMPs. At 37 degrees C, the affinity of the mr-OMP for a complementary 12-mer RNA target was approximately four times higher than that of the corresponding d-OMP as measured by a constant activity gel electrophoresis mobility shift assay. An mr-OMP whose sequence contained two mismatched bases did not bind to the RNA target under these conditions. The mr-OMP also showed improved ability to inhibit HSV-1 replication in HSV-1 infected Vero cells in culture. Thus the IC50 of the mr-OMP was five times less than that of the d-OMP. No inhibition was observed by the mismatched mr-OMP, and no inhibition of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) replication was observed with any of the oligomers. These results demonstrate a direct correlation between oligomer binding affinity and antisense activity in cell culture and suggest that oligo-2'-O-methylribonucleoside methylphosphonates are promising candidates for development of effective antisense reagents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kean
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kipp
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kulka
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aurelian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000187:drug effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000494:pharmacology*; D063065:Organophosphonates / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D063065:Organophosphonates