Development of CRISPR as an Antiviral Strategy to Combat SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza.
Cell
; 181(4): 865-876.e12, 2020 05 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-684968
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has highlighted the need for antiviral approaches that can target emerging viruses with no effective vaccines or pharmaceuticals. Here, we demonstrate a CRISPR-Cas13-based strategy, PAC-MAN (prophylactic antiviral CRISPR in human cells), for viral inhibition that can effectively degrade RNA from SARS-CoV-2 sequences and live influenza A virus (IAV) in human lung epithelial cells. We designed and screened CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) targeting conserved viral regions and identified functional crRNAs targeting SARS-CoV-2. This approach effectively reduced H1N1 IAV load in respiratory epithelial cells. Our bioinformatic analysis showed that a group of only six crRNAs can target more than 90% of all coronaviruses. With the development of a safe and effective system for respiratory tract delivery, PAC-MAN has the potential to become an important pan-coronavirus inhibition strategy.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Antiviral Agents
/
RNA, Viral
/
Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype
/
CRISPR-Cas Systems
/
Betacoronavirus
Type of study:
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Cell
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.cell.2020.04.020
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