Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have successfully used molecules comprised of small strands of RNA to shut down the production of destructive proteins generated by the COVID-19 virus. Additionally, the researchers are working to aerosolize the RNA molecules so that they could be incorporated in an inhalable drug that would mitigate viral chaos. The finding appears online today in Gene Therapy.
A key to the Georgetown research efforts was the use of either microRNA (miRNA) or silencing RNA (siRNA, also known as small interfering RNA), both of which are RNA molecules. These molecules can guide the ultimate expression of how protein production occurs in a virus. And it is the proteins produced by SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) that wreak havoc in people.
SARS-CoV-2 bears biological similarities to other respiratory viruses, such as the seasonal flu. The use of Tamiflu® (oseltamivir) to treat and prevent infection from the flu has proved to be helpful in lessening flu symptoms and its lethality in some people.
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Gene Therapy. Research Paper: