Inhibition Effect of Human Cytomegalovirus Replication by Peptide nucleic acids (PNA)

  • Park, Young-Doo (Division of Bio and Health Sciences, Mokwon University) ;
  • Eum, Jin-Seong (Division of Bio and Health Sciences, Mokwon University) ;
  • Paik, Soon-Young (Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Hong, Seong-Karp (Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea)
  • Published : 2008.05.30

Abstract

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) provokes fatal infections in AIDS patients that have deficient immune functions and patients that have cellular immune responses repressed after bone marrow transplantation. A new candidate for therapeutic against HCMV is needed because conventional treatments as ganciclovir, acyclovir, cidofovir, and foscarnet cytosine used currently are improper due to their side effects and advent of resistant HCMV. In this study, peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) against UL54 (DNA polymerase) and UL97 (phosphotransferase) that were essential in replication of HCMV were applied in inhibition of replication of HCMV. From the results of this study, 4 PNAs $_{PNA}UL97-1$, $_{PNA}UL97-2$, $_{PNA}UL54-3$, and $_{PNA}UL54-4$ showed 3.7, 3.1, 1.7, and 1.6 folds of inhibition effect against replication of HCMV in the human fibroblast cells. These PNA suggest a novel possibility as therapeutic against HCMV.

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