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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, July 2007, p. 2470-2482, Vol. 51, No. 7
0066-4804/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.00069-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

In Vitro Resistance Selection and In Vivo Efficacy of Morpholino Oligomers against West Nile Virus{triangledown}

Tia S. Deas,2 Corey J. Bennett,1 Susan A. Jones,1 Mark Tilgner,1 Ping Ren,1 Melissa J. Behr,1,2 David A. Stein,3 Patrick L. Iversen,3 Laura D. Kramer,1,2 Kristen A. Bernard,1,2* and Pei-Yong Shi1,2*

Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health,1 Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York, Albany, New York 12201,2 AVI BioPharma Inc., Corvallis, Oregon 973333

Received 16 January 2007/ Returned for modification 8 March 2007/ Accepted 24 April 2007

We characterize in vitro resistance to and demonstrate the in vivo efficacy of two antisense phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs) against West Nile virus (WNV). Both PMOs were conjugated with an Arg-rich peptide. One peptide-conjugated PMO (PPMO) binds to the 5' terminus of the viral genome (5'-end PPMO); the other targets an essential 3' RNA element required for genome cyclization (3' conserved sequence I [3' CSI] PPMO). The 3' CSI PPMO displayed a broad spectrum of antiflavivirus activity, suppressing WNV, Japanese encephalitis virus, and St. Louis encephalitis virus, as demonstrated by reductions in viral titers of 3 to 5 logs in cell cultures, likely due to the absolute conservation of the 3' CSI PPMO-targeted sequences among these viruses. The selection and sequencing of PPMO-resistant WNV showed that the 5'-end-PPMO-resistant viruses contained two to three mismatches within the PPMO-binding site whereas the 3' CSI PPMO-resistant viruses accumulated mutations outside the PPMO-targeted region. The mutagenesis of a WNV infectious clone demonstrated that the mismatches within the PPMO-binding site were responsible for the 5'-end PPMO resistance. In contrast, a U insertion or a G deletion located within the 3'-terminal stem-loop of the viral genome was the determinant of the 3' CSI PPMO resistance. In a mouse model, both the 5'-end and 3' CSI PPMOs (administered at 100 or 200 µg/day) partially protected mice from WNV disease, with minimal to no PPMO-mediated toxicity. A higher treatment dose (300 µg/day) caused toxicity. Unconjugated PMOs (3 mg/day) showed neither efficacy nor toxicity, suggesting the importance of the peptide conjugate for efficacy. The results suggest that a modification of the peptide conjugate composition to reduce its toxicity yet maintain its ability to effectively deliver PMO into cells may improve PMO-mediated therapy.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, 120 New Scotland Ave., Albany, NY 12208. Phone for Pei-Yong Shi: (518) 473-7487. Fax: (518) 473-1326. E-mail: ship{at}wadsworth.org. Phone for Kristen A. Bernard: (518) 869-4519. Fax: (518) 869-6487. E-mail: bernard{at}wadsworth.org

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 7 May 2007.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, July 2007, p. 2470-2482, Vol. 51, No. 7
0066-4804/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.00069-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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