Antisense approaches for inhibiting respiratory syncytial virus

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues as an emerging infectious disease not only among infants and children, but also for the immune-suppressed, hospitalised and the elderly. To date, ribavirin (Virazole®, ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) remains the only therapeutic agent approved for the treatment of RSV. However, its clinical benefits are small and occur only in a fraction of RSV-infected patients. The prophylactic administration of palivizumab (Synagis™, MedImmune, Inc.) is problematic and costly and, therefore, only recommended for use in high-risk infants. Clearly, the need for an effective and safe drug remains high. This review discusses several different antisense approaches and compares them with traditional strategies, such as RSV-targeting antibodies and antivirals, as well as developments in vaccine research.

• 2-5A
• 2-5A antisense
• antisense
• antivirals
• aptamer
• interferon
• oligonucleotide
• oligodeoxyribonucleotide
• palivizumab
• phosphorothioate
• ribavirin
• RNase L
• siRNA