HIV Rev peptides conjugated with peptide nucleic acids and their efficient binding to RRE RNA

HIV Rev peptides conjugated with peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) were designed and synthesized to develop a designing approach for a novel RNA-binding molecule. The binding affinities of PNA-peptides with the Rev responsive element (RRE) RNA were determined by the competition assay using a rhodamine-labeled Rev. The peptide conjugated with an antisense PNA (TGCGC) bound RRE RNA more efficiently than the molecule without the PNA or the peptide sequence.