Characteristics of short double stranded RNA against hepatitis C virus: a literature-based analysis

ObjectiveTo describe the characteristics of short interfering double stranded RNA (dsRNA) against hepatitis C virus (HCV) and to find out the determining factors in design for desirable inhibitory efficacy.MethodsThe data were collected and analyzed by retrieval of 229 published short dsRNAs designed for degradation of HCV RNA.ResultsStatistical analyses showed that the most frequently involved short dsRNAs were directing against 5'NTR/core and genotype 1b, accounting for 64.2% and 69.9%, respectively. Inhibitory efficacy varied with the structural characteristics of short dsRNAs, of which the most potential were those directed against HCV core region with inhibitory efficacy of 70.2%. Moreover, the mean inhibitory efficacy of short dsRNAs with GC contents from 30% to 52% was higher than that of those with GC contents out of this range.ConclusionBased on this pooled data in a relatively large sample, the present results provided clues to design for short dsRNAs with more potent inhibitory efficacy.