INHIBITORS AND TARGET MOLECULE CO-LOCALIZATION

摘要

The invention provides mechanisms for the co-localization in a living cell of a target molecule and of an inhibitor for the target molecule. The invention also provides novel chimeric tRNALys-ribozyme molecules that compete effectively with tRNALys for HIV-1 reverse transcriptase binding sites. The chimeric human tRNALys-ribozymes inhibit HIV reverse transcription by delivering inhibitors such as ribozymes of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase directly to the virion particle and render it non-functional. The chimeric molecules of the invention thus serve as highly specific non-toxic therapeutic agents and vaccines for viral, including lentiviral, infections. These chimeric molecules also reveal a novel, site specific RNA cleaving activity of HIV-1.