The impact of VHS specific siRNA on Herpes simplex virus typeIreplication

Objective To study the role of VHS protein during HSV-1 replication by RNAi. Methods Three siRNAs were transcripted in vitro by T7RNA polymerase. The Vero cells were transfected with siRNAs followed by HSV-1 infection. Then we detected the activity of cell by MTT method and monitored virus titer at 12 to 72 h after infection using single step growth curve assay, and used RT-PCR method to detect the expression of UL41 mRNA after R2 transfection. Results One step growth curves of HSV-1 and cell activity curves indicated that groups with UL41-specific siRNAs decreased significantly in virus titer and have higher cell activity than control. The RT-PCR result indicated that UL41-specific siRNA R2 inhibited the expression of UL41 gene considerably. Conclusion SiRNA transcripted in vitro by T7RNA polymerase can be used to inhibit viral replication, and the results provided a preliminary theory for treating HSV-1 by siRNA.