title: Increased inhibitory ability of conjugated RNA aptamers against the HCV IRES.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) translation begins within the internal ribosome entry site (IRES). We have previously isolated two RNA aptamers, 2-02 and 3-07, which specifically bind to domain II and domain III-IV of the HCV IRES, respectively, and inhibit IRES-dependent translation. To improve the function of these aptamers, we constructed two conjugated molecules of 2-02 and 3-07. These bound to the target RNA more efficiently than the two parental aptamers. Furthermore, they inhibited IRES-dependent translation about 10 times as efficiently as the 3-07 aptamer. This result indicates that combining aptamers for different target recognition sites potentiates the inhibition activity by enhancing the domain-binding efficiency.
authors.affiliation: Age Dimension Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan.
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Umehara
authors.forename: Fumiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Tsunemi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
mesh_terms: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D046209:Electrophoresis, Microchip; D024202:Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D012367:RNA, Viral