Therapeutic Agents Acting on RNA Targets

There are many therapeutics that target RNA, such as streptomycin, gentamicin, and tetracycline; some of them have been in existence for many years. All of them bind to ribosomal RNA and alter normal ribosome function. The modern strategies of drug discovery and design pertain nearly exclusively to protein targets. However, the field of drug discovery for RNA targets is maturing rapidly, largely due to the exciting ribosome/drug complexes that have recently been solved. Potential RNA drug targets abound for bacterial, viral, and cellular systems. Nevertheless, questions remain as to whether or not compounds can be found that simultaneously satisfy RNA binding and pharmacological properties, such as absorption and membrane permeation. The range of interactions observed, from Coulombic to hydrophobic, and the predicted “drug-like” qualities of several ribosome binding antibiotics, suggest that the discovery of drugs that target RNA can be a general phenomenon. Keywords: aminoglycosides; antibiotics; drug discovery; erythromycin; oxazolidinones; ribosome; tetracyclines