An intranasally delivered ultra-conserved siRNA prophylactically represses SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lung and nasal cavity

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Author(s)
Idris, Adi
Supramaniam, Aroon
Tayyar, Yaman
Kelly, Gabrielle
McMillan, Nigel AJ
Morris, Kevin V
Griffith University Author(s)
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2024
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Abstract

There remains a striking overall mortality burden of COVID-19 worldwide. Given the waning effectiveness of current SARS-CoV-2 antivirals due to the rapid emergence of new variants of concern (VOC), we employed a direct-acting molecular therapy approach using gene silencing RNA interference (RNAi) technology. In this study, we developed and screened several ultra-conserved small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) before selecting one potent siRNA candidate for pre-clinical in vivo testing. This non-immunostimulatory, anti-SARS-CoV-2 siRNA candidate maintains its antiviral activity against all tested SARS-CoV-2 VOC and works effectively as a single agent. For the first time, significant antiviral effects in both the lungs and nasal cavities of SARS-CoV-2 infected mice were observed when this siRNA candidate was delivered intranasally (IN) as a prophylactic agent with the aid of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Importantly, a pre-exposure prophylactic IN-delivered anti-SARS-CoV-2 siRNA antiviral that can ameliorate viral replication in the nasal cavity could potentially prevent aerosol spread of respiratory viruses. An IN delivery approach would allow for the development of a direct-acting nasal spray approach that could be self-administered prophylactically.

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Antiviral Research

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222

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NHMRC

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APP1047635

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© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Subject

Microbiology

Medical microbiology

Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences

Intranasal

Lipid nanoparticles

RNAi

SARS-CoV-2

siRNA

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Idris, A; Supramaniam, A; Tayyar, Y; Kelly, G; McMillan, NAJ; Morris, KV, An intranasally delivered ultra-conserved siRNA prophylactically represses SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lung and nasal cavity, Antiviral Research, 2024, 222, pp. 105815

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