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Summary
Novelty: Antisense oligomers which are complementary to vital regions of a viral genome or mRNA transcripts thereof, are disclosed. Methylphosphonate oligomers complementary to particular sequences of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) mRNA are demonstrated to have antiviral activity. Methods of inhibiting viral replication using these oligomers are also provided.
Biology: In one aspect, the invention discloses a method of interfering with the replication of a virus after infection of host cells. The cells are contacted with an amount of oligomer which is complementary to, and which hybridizes with, a messenger RNA sequence for a gene essential in viral DNA synthesis and/or replication. For Herpes simplex viruses, the target sequence comprises an mRNA transcipt of an essential beta-gene. Suitable regions of these genes for selection of a target sequence include a sequence at, or proximate to, a 5′-translational start or a 3′-adenylation signal.