Browsing by Author "Hazemi, Madoka E."
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- Proximity-Induced Nucleic Acid Degrader (PINAD) approach to targeted RNA degradation using small moleculesPublication . Mikutis, Sigitas; Rebelo, Maria; Yankova, Eliza; Gu, Muxin; Tang, Cong; Coelho, Ana R.; Yang, Mo; Hazemi, Madoka E.; Pires de Miranda, Marta; Eleftheriou, Maria; Robertson, Max; Vassiliou, George S.; Adams, David J.; Simas, J. Pedro; Corzana, Francisco; Schneekloth, John S.; Tzelepis, Konstantinos; Bernardes, Gonçalo J.L.Nature has evolved intricate machinery to target and degrade RNA, and some of these molecular mechanisms can be adapted for therapeutic use. Small interfering RNAs and RNase H-inducing oligonucleotides have yielded therapeutic agents against diseases that cannot be tackled using protein-centered approaches. Because these therapeutic agents are nucleic acid-based, they have several inherent drawbacks which include poor cellular uptake and stability. Here we report a new approach to target and degrade RNA using small molecules, proximity-induced nucleic acid degrader (PINAD). We have utilized this strategy to design two families of RNA degraders which target two different RNA structures within the genome of SARS-CoV-2: G-quadruplexes and the betacoronaviral pseudoknot. We demonstrate that these novel molecules degrade their targets using in vitro, in cellulo, and in vivo SARS-CoV-2 infection models. Our strategy allows any RNA binding small molecule to be converted into a degrader, empowering RNA binders that are not potent enough to exert a phenotypic effect on their own. PINAD raises the possibility of targeting and destroying any disease-related RNA species, which can greatly expand the space of druggable targets and diseases.