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An siRNA-based microbicide protects mice from lethal herpes simplex virus 2 infection

Nature volume 439, pages 89–94 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) infection causes significant morbidity1 and is an important cofactor for the transmission of HIV infection2. A microbicide to prevent sexual transmission of HSV-2 would contribute substantially to controlling the spread of HIV and other infections3,4. Because RNA interference (RNAi) provides effective antiviral defence in plants and other organisms, several studies have focused on harnessing RNAi to inhibit viral infection5. Here we show that vaginal instillation of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting HSV-2 protects mice from lethal infection. siRNAs mixed with lipid are efficiently taken up by epithelial and lamina propria cells and silence gene expression in the mouse vagina and ectocervix for at least nine days. Intravaginal application of siRNAs targeting the HSV-2 UL27 and UL29 genes (which encode an envelope glycoprotein and a DNA binding protein6, respectively) was well tolerated, did not induce interferon-responsive genes or cause inflammation, and protected mice when administered before and/or after lethal HSV-2 challenge. These results suggest that siRNAs are attractive candidates for the active component of a microbicide designed to prevent viral infection or transmission.

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Figure 1: siRNAs administered intravaginally are efficiently taken up by vaginal tissue and durably silence endogenous EGFP expression.
Figure 2: siRNAs targeting HSV-2 reduce viral replication.
Figure 3: siRNAs protect mice from lethal HSV-2 infection.
Figure 4: Topical lipid-complexed siRNAs do not activate inflammation or interferon-responsive genes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Colgrove, T. Taylor, E. Torres-Lopez, D. Brown and S. White for advice. This work was supported by grants from the NIH to D.M.K. and J.L., and by postdoctoral fellowships from the Harvard Center for AIDS Research and amfAR to D.P. and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to D.C.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CBR Institute for Biomedical Research,

    Deborah Palliser, Dipanjan Chowdhury & Judy Lieberman

  2. Department of Pediatrics,

    Deborah Palliser, Dipanjan Chowdhury & Judy Lieberman

  3. Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics,

    Qing-Yin Wang & David M. Knipe

  4. Dana Farber Cancer Institute,

    Sandra J. Lee

  5. Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    Roderick T. Bronson

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  1. Deborah Palliser
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  2. Dipanjan Chowdhury
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Correspondence to Judy Lieberman.

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Palliser, D., Chowdhury, D., Wang, QY. et al. An siRNA-based microbicide protects mice from lethal herpes simplex virus 2 infection. Nature 439, 89–94 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04263

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