title: Therapeutic applications of ribozymes and riboswitches.
abstract: Therapeutic approaches employing RNA as a tool or as a drug target have recently emerged and have been employed for various applications-ranging from cancer treatment to virus infection. Despite the paucity of its molecular groups compared to proteins, RNA has nevertheless proved to be an excellent choice for researchers who have aspired to develop therapeutic tools. Ribozymes and riboswitches are RNA-based therapeutic tools that are most often employed to knockdown gene expression and to inhibit bacterial infections, respectively. The aim of this review is to summarize recent advances observed in ribozyme- and riboswitch-based therapeutic applications that, in some cases, have reached clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Groupe ARN/RNA Group, Département de biologie, Faculté des sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada J1K 2R1.
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mulhbacher
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: St-Pierre
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lafontaine
mesh_terms: D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000235:genetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058928:Riboswitch / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D058928:Riboswitch; C427204:hammerhead ribozyme