Antisense technology as a potential strategy for the treatment of coronaviruses infection: With focus on COVID‐19

Abstract

After the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in December 2019 and the increasing number of SARS‐CoV‐2 infections all over the world, researchers are struggling to investigate effective therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this infection. Targeting viral small molecules that are involved in the process of infection is a promising strategy. Since many host factors are also used by SARS‐CoV‐2 during various stages of infection, down‐regulating or silencing these factors can serve as an effective therapeutic tool. Several nucleic acid‐based technologies including short interfering RNAs, antisense oligonucleotides, aptamers, DNAzymes, and ribozymes have been suggested for the control of SARS‐CoV‐2 as well as other respiratory viruses. The antisense technology also plays an indispensable role in the treatment of many other diseases including cancer, influenza, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. In this review, we summarised the potential applications of antisense technology for the treatment of coronaviruses and specifically COVID‐19 infection.

DNA Oligonucleotides as Antivirals and Vaccine Constituents against SARS Coronaviruses: A Prospective Tool for Immune System Tuning

“…The delivery of naked or unprotected antisense sequences could potentially expose them to enzymatic degradation, resulting in several negative side effects including toxicity, instability, and reticuloendothelial system and kidney clearance. Therefore, it is essential to optimize specific nanocarriers for the delivery of these fragile molecules to their target site [ 34 ]. Various types of nanoparticles including organic (i.e., lipid, polymer, and dendrimer), inorganic (i.e., gold), and virus-like or self-assembling protein nanoparticles were investigated against viral infections, including SARS or MERS coronaviruses.…”

“…In each case, the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles such as the shape, size, and surface charge could considerably influence the success of the treatment. Though antisense oligonucleotides can be designed to detect and treat SARS-CoV-2 infection, the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides to lung tissue remains a great challenge [ 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”

Nanoarchitectures to Deliver Nucleic Acid Drugs to Disease Sites

“…As tools to treat COVID-19, nucleic acid drugs (siRNA, ribozymes, and others) have been also developed. [96][97][98][99][100][101][102]…”

“…Exactly as designed, the aptamer successfully prevents the infection of SARS‐CoV‐2 to human beings. As tools to treat COVID‐19, nucleic acid drugs (siRNA, ribozymes, and others) have been also developed [96–102] …”