Targeting SARS CoV2 (Indian isolate) genome with miRNA: An in silico study

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Virology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• The global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 necessitates diverse therapeutic strategies beyond vaccines and drug repurposing.
• Alternative therapies are crucial for managing COVID-19, prompting exploration of novel treatment modalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and computationally validate microRNAs (miRNAs) as a novel antisense therapy targeting the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
• To investigate the potential of miRNA therapy as an alternative treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Main Methods:

• Identification of open reading frames and prediction of proteins in the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
• Computational design of miRNAs targeting viral genes and assessment of binding probability.
• In silico analysis of miRNA-host interactions to prevent off-target effects.
• Molecular docking of pre-miRNAs with dicer endoribonuclease to study processing.

Main Results:

• Computational methods identified potential miRNAs capable of binding to the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
• Analysis confirmed that designed pre-miRNAs interact with the RNAse III 2 domain of dicer.
• In silico predictions suggest successful processing of pre-miRNAs into mature miRNAs targeting the virus.

Conclusions:

• miRNA therapy presents a promising alternative approach for treating SARS-CoV-2 infections.
• The designed miRNAs, upon processing by dicer, are predicted to effectively target the viral genome.
• This study validates the potential of antisense miRNA therapy against SARS-CoV-2.