Inhibition of herpesvirus-6B RNA replication by short interference RNAs

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) is a process of sequence-specific gene silencing, which is initiated by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). RNAi may also serve as an antiviral system in vertebrates. This study describes the inhibition of herpesvirus-6B (HHV-6B) replication by short interference RNAs (siRNAs) that are targeted to the U38 sequence that encodes DNA polymerase. When virus-infected SupT1 cells were treated by siRNA, these cells blocked the cytopathic effect (CPE) and detected the HHV-6B antibody-negative in indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFA). Our result suggests that RNAi can efficiently block Herpesvirus-6B replication.