RNAi is used to inhibit HIV-1 virus

A form of RNA developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has inhibited replication of HIV-1 virus in human-derived cell lines, potentially showing a new way to combat AIDS. The in vitro work uses RNA interference (RNAi), a naturally occurring technology used by a organisms to silence genes.

However, there are a number of obstacles to be overcome before the technology can form a basis for intervention in HIV treatment, according to Phillip A. Sharp, director of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research. These include finding methods to deliver the short interfering RNAs to cells in animals or humans, and ensuring that the process won't have negative side effects.

The researchers - from MIT, Harvard Medical School and the University of Pennsylvania - created short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and showed how these can inhibit the growth of HIV through gene silencing. They found two ways of using siRNA technology to potentially inhibit HIV infection. The first is by silencing cellular genes that are essential to HIV infection, thereby making cells less susceptible to the virus. The second is to use siRNAs to silence the HIV gene itself.