title: Ribozymes as antiviral agents.
abstract: Ribozymes are RNA molecules with cleavage activity that can be engineered to specifically target a given RNA molecule. The hammerhead, hairpin and hepatitis delta virus ribozymes have been widely studied for their use as therapeutical agents. This review discusses the structure and properties of these ribozymes, along with the advances made in the development of these molecules for their application in the treatment of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus infections.
authors.affiliation: Viral Hepatitis Research Foundation, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bartolomé
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carreño
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000188:drug therapy; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy; D003698:Hepatitis Delta Virus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; C418481:hairpin ribozyme; C427204:hammerhead ribozyme