Cleavage of targeted RNA by RNAase P

Abstract

It has been discovered that it is possible to target any RNA molecule for cleavage by RNase P by forming a hybrid region consisting of a short sequence of base pairs followed by a terminal 3'- NCCA sequence. In the preferred embodiment, the region is formed by addition of an external guide sequence consisting of a nucleotide sequence complementary to the targeted site which includes a 3'-NCCA, wherein the sequence hybridizes to the targeted RNA to form a short sequence of double-stranded RNA under conditions promoting cleavage of the substrate at the nucleotide at the 5' side of the base-paired region by the RNase P or catalytically active equivalent thereof. Specificity is determined by the complementary sequence. The sequence is preferably ten to fifteen nucleotides in length and may contain non-complementary nucleotides to the extent this does not interfere with formation of several base pairs followed by a NCCA at the 3' end. These embodiments are particularly useful in the treatment of viral diseases and disorders associated with expression of specific proteins from mRNA.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.