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468659 
Journal Article 
Retroviral self-inactivation in the mouse vagina induced by short DNA 
Elzaouk, LW; Jung-Shiu, J; Heinrich, J; Moelling, K 
2009 
Yes 
Antiviral Research
ISSN: 0166-3542 
82 
1 
22-28 
English 
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been shown to undergo self-destruction upon treatment of cell-free virions with partially double-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides targeting the polypurine tract (PPT) of the viral RNA in the virus particle. The ODN forms a local hybrid with the PPT activating the viral RNase H to prematurely cleave the genomic RNA. Here we are describing the self-destruction of a recombinant lentivirus harboring the PPT of HIV in a mouse vagina model. We showed a decrease in viral RNA levels in cell-free virus particles and a reduction reverse transcribed complementary DNA (cDNA) in virus-infected human and primary murine cells by incubation with ODNs. In the vagina simultaneous, prophylactic or therapeutic ODN treatments led to a significant reduction in viral RNA levels. Our finding may have some relevance for the design of other viral self-destruction approaches. It may lead to a microbicide for reduction of sexual and mother-to-child transmission. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 
Lentiviral vector; HIV; RNase H; Microbicide; Virus suicide; Hairpin-loop DNA; polypurine tract; hiv; oligodeoxynucleotide; oligonucleotide; transmission; rna; microbicides; replication; inhibition; expression