RNASE L ACTIVATORS AND ANTISENSE OLIGONUCLEOTIDES EFFECTIVE TO TREAT RSV INFECTIONS

Abstract: The invention concerns compounds and methods for treating infection with Respiratory Syncytial Virus. The compounds comprise an antisense portion, which is complementary to a normally single stranded portion of the RSV antigenomic strand (the mRNA strand), a linker and an oligonucleotide activator of RNase L, a ubiquitous non-specific RNase. The method comprises forming a complex of an activated RNase L and the antisense molecule. The application teaches methods of determining which portions of the RSV antigenomic strand are normally single-stranded. The application teaches that an antisense oligonucleotide having the sequence of residues 8281-8299 of the RSV genome is particularly useful to practice the invention and provides in vitro results superior to those obtainable with the conventional drug of choice, ribavirin.

Description: RNase L Activators and Antisense Oliσonucleotides Effective to Treat RSV Infections This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/011,725, filed February 15, 1996. 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention concerns compounds useful for treating humans infected by Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a negative strand RNA virus, and methods of their use. Particularly, the invention concerns a complex of an oligonucleotide that is complementary to some portion of the anti-genomic strand of RSV and a covalently linked activator of RNase L (henceforth, "activator-antisense complexes") . More particularly, the invention concerns activator-antisense complexes, in which the oligonucleotide is selected to bind to a portion of the RSV anti-genomic strand that normally has no self-hybridizing secondary structure. 2. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) , a non-segmented, negative-strand RNA virus in the pneumovirus subfamily of Paramyxoviridae, is a widespread human pathogen accounting for over 1 million deaths per year worldwide (Mclntosh and Chanock 1990) . While the majority of serious cases are children from developing countries, there are estimated to be 300,000 hospitalized cases per year in the United States (Zisson, 1993). It is also believed that of childhood deaths from pneumonia caused by respiratory viral infections, 62% are due to RSV (Heilman, 1994) . The only approved treatment for RSV is aerosolized ribavirin (l-b-D-ribofuranosyl-l,2,3- triazole-3-carboxamide) . Ribavirin is administered as an aerosol which is inhaled. Ribavirin therapy has several limitations including minimal efficacy in clinical use, the requirement of a tent around the patient, the potential to clog ventilating units, and the observation of some teratogenicity in animal models (Froelich, 1994) , significant side effects and high cost. RSV replicates in several alveolar cell types including macrophage and epithelial lineages (Panuska et al., 1992, Midulla et al., 1993). Accordingly, ribavirin is administered to RSV infected individuals by inhalation of an aerosol. Taber et al. , 1983, Pediatrics 72:613-18; Hall et al. , 1983, N. Eng. J. Med. 308:1443-7; Englund et al. , 1994, 5 J. Pediatrics 125:635-41. Activator-antisense complexes (termed therein "2-5A:AS") have been described previously (Torrence et al., 1993, WO 94/09129 by Torrence et al.). Although antisense oligonucleotides have been used as antiviral agents, e.g.: 0 to inhibit HIV replication, see Zamecnik et al, 1986; Goodchild et al., 1988; Letsinger et al., 1989; Balotta et al., 1993; to inhibit RSV infection, W095/22553 by Kilkuskie et al. , no examples of the successful use of activator- antisense complexes as an antiviral therapy have been 5 reported. The mechanism of action of activator-antisense complexes is different than the mechanism of action of other antisense oligonucleotides. The activator portion of the activator- antisense complexes activates RNase L and the antisense 0 domain serves as a specific, high affinity binding site for the target RNA. The result is the selective cleavage of the target RNA by RNase L. Physiologically, RNase L functions as part of the interferon system in restricting virus replication in cells 5 of higher vertebrates (reviewed in Silverman, 1994) . Interferon treatment of cells activates genes encoding 2-5A synthetases, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-dependent enzymes that produce 5 , -triphosphorylated, 2',5'-linked oligoadenylates (2',5'A) from ATP. Viral dsRNAs are 30 potential activators of these enzymes (Gribaudo et al., 1991). The 2*,5'A binds to and activates RNase L resulting in the general cleavage of cellular and viral RNA; thus restricting the replication of some picornaviruses (Chebath et al. , 1987; Rysiecki et al., 1989; and Hassel et al., 35 1994) . RNase L is not specific for cleaving viral RNA. For instance, in interferon-treated, encephalomyocarditis virus infected cells, RNase L causes degradation of riboso al RNA (Wreschner et al., 1981). Through the activator-antisense approach, RNase L is converted from a non-specific nuclease to a highly specific endoribonuclease that selectively cleaves mRNA targets. This has been demonstrated in a cell- free system from Daudi cells, a human lymphoblastoid cell line, in which a modified HIV-1 vif mRNA was targeted for cleavage by an activator-antisense complex (Torrence et al., 1993) . Subsequently, purified RNase L has been directed by an activator-antisense complex to cleave selectively an mRNA target encoding the protein kinase PKR in the presence of a nontargeted mRNA (Maran et al., 1994). Furthermore, in HeLa cells, the use of activator-antisense complexes, which were directed to a sequence in PKR mRNA, resulted in the ablation of PKR mRNA and enzyme activity (Maran et al., 1994) such that the dsRNA-mediated activation of transcription factor, NF-kB was ablated. More recently, it was shown that the activation of RNase L by an activator-antisense complex results in the catalytic degradation of PKR mRNA (k Mt of about 7 sec 1 ) (Maitra et al., 1995). 3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a complex that is useful for the treatment of infection by RSV. The essential components of the complex are an antisense oligonucleotide which has a sequence that is complementary to between about 10 and about 30 nucleotides of the antigenomic RNA strand, i.e., the template strand for genome synthesis, of a strain of RSV and an activator of RNase L (henceforth, "activator- antisense complexes") . The elements of the activator- antisense complex are preferably covalently linked by a linker. In an alternative embodiment, the invention consists of a non-covalently linked complex comprising one or two activated RNase L molecules and at least one antisense oligonucleotide complementary to between about 10 and 30 nucleotides of the antigenomic RNA strand of RSV (henceforth, "enzyme-antisense complexes") . In a further alternative embodiment the invention consists of an antisense oligonucleotide having a sequence of at least 10-30 nucleotides and preferably 15-25 nucleotides, and more preferably which is 18 or 19 nucleotides. The activator-antisense complexes of the invention are transported across the cell membrane without the use of carriers or permeabilizing agents. Once internalized the activator-antisense complexes lead to the formation of enzyme-antisense complexes, which causes destruction of the antisense targeted RNA. To treat RSV infection the antisense complexes can be administered by inhalation of an aerosol, the same method as is used to administer ribavirin. Ribavirin and the antisense complexes of the invention can, therefore, be administered in a common pharmaceutical composition. 4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figures 1:1-1:10. The sequence of Respiratory Syncytial Virus strain A2, positions numbered in the 5'-*3' direction. Figures 2A-2H:3. Squiggle plot output of MFOLD calculations of the secondary structure of portions of the RSV antigenomic RNA, positions numbered in 5'→3' order. Figure 2A. Squiggle plot of residues 7900-8800 of RSV antigenomic RNA. Figures 2B:1-2B:3. Three alternative squiggle plots of residues 1- 1124 of RSV antigenomic RNA. Figures 2C:1-2C:3. Three alternative squiggle plots of residues 1100-2400 of RSV. Figures 2D:1-2D:3. Three alternative squiggle plots of residues 2200-3300 of RSV antigenomic RNA. Figures 2E:1- 2E:2. Two alternative squiggle plots of residues 3100-4300 of RSV antigenomic RNA. Figures 2F:1-2F:3. Three alternative squiggle plots of residues 4200-5599 of RSV. Figures 2G:1-2G:3. Three alternative squiggle plots of residues 5600-6999 of RSV antigenomic RNA. Figures 2H:1- 2H:3. Three alternative squiggle plots of residues 6600-7999 of RSV antigenomic RNA. Figure 3. Comparison of anti-RSV activities of spA 4 - antiRSV3'-3'T/(8281-8299) and spA 2 -antiRSV3'-3'T/ (8281-8299) . 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention in one embodiment consists of the covalently-linked complex of an activator of RNase L and an oligonucleotide that is capable of binding to the antigenomic template RNA strand of RSV and/or binding to an mRNA of an RSV protein (an "RSV antisense oligonucleotide") . In an alternative embodiment the invention consists of the non- covalently linked complex of an activated RNase L and an RSV antisense oligonucleotide. In a preferred embodiment the antisense oligonucleotide is complementary to a portion of the RSV antigenome that is normally single stranded. The activator is attached through a linker to either the 3 ' or the 5' terminus of the antisense oligonucleotide by a linker. In one embodiment, a blocker is attached to the 3' terminus of antisense oligonucleotide and the linker is attached to the 5' terminus of the antisense oligonucleotide. In an alternative embodiment the linker is attached to the 3• end of the antisense oligonucleotide and serves as both linker and blocker. The antisense oligonucleotide is between about 15 and about 20 nucleotides in length and preferably 18 or 19 nucleotides in length. Those skilled in the art will understand that oligonucleotides with high GC content can be shorter than those with low GC content. According to the invention, the portion of the antigenome of a strain of RSV to which the antisense oligonucleotide is complementary can be determined from the sequence of the strain of RSV and secondary structure determining algorithms such as MFOLD. A suitable portion of the RSV antigenome is one that is normally in a single stranded conformation, e.g., forms a loop of the stem and loop secondary structure of RNA. Because RSV is a negative strand virus, the antisense oligonucleotides are complementary not only to the antigenomic RNA but also to the mRNA that directs translation of the viral proteins. The internucleotide phosphodiester bonds of the antisense oligonucleotide can be any bonds that are compatible with the formation of Watson-Crick base pairs with complementary RNA. These include as non-limiting examples phosphodiesters, phosphorothiodiesters, methylphosphonodiesters and methylphosphonothiodiesters, which provide for increased resistance to degradation after administration. The nucleotides of the antisense oligonucleotide can be 2 '-deoxynucleotides or 2'O-methyl nucleotides. 5.1 DETERMINATION OF THE SEQUENCE OF THE ANTISENSE OLIGONUCLEOTIDE The sequence of RSV strain A is given in Figures 1:1- 1:10, in the 5'-+3' orientation. The present invention is exemplified by oligonucleotides directed towards strain A2, but the invention can be practiced with any other strain of RSV, having a known genomic sequence. The sequence of the RSV antigenome RNA can be derived therefrom by routine techniques. RSV is a negative strand RNA virus having multiple genes, i.e., the virion contains the complement of the coding strand. On entry into a host cell the genome is transcribed to produce the various mRNA encoding the viral proteins and also to produce an entire complementary RNA, the RSV antigenome, from which the genomic strands of the progeny virus are transcribed. According to the invention the sequence of the antisense oligonucleotide is selected so that the activator-antisense complex binds to and thereby causes the catalytic destruction of the RSV antigenome or alternatively an mRNA. As used herein the terms "antigenomic strand," "RSV antigenome" and "RSV mRNA" are synonyms. Thus, in an embodiment of the invention the sequence of the antisense oligonucleotide of the invention is selected so that the antisense oligonucleotide is complementary to a portion of the RSV antigenome and will bind to it, i.e., the activator-antisense complex targets activated RNase L to the portion of the RSV antigenome complementary to the antisense oligonucleotide. Single stranded RNA molecules have regions in which the polymer "folds back" by self hybridizing. These regions of self hybridizing duplex RNA ("stems") are separated by single-stranded "loops" and "bubbles." Thus, not all portions of the RSV antigenome are susceptible to binding to the antisense oligonucleotide with equal affinity and, thus, not all portions of the RSV antigenome are suitable as targets of the activator-antisense complexes. Which portions of an RNA molecule are in stems and which are in loops or bubbles for the purposes of the invention is determined by a computer modeling program such as "FoldRNA" or "MFOLD", which are in the public domain (e.g., through the Biocomputing Office, Biology Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN) . Such programs systematically assess all possible conformations and determine the conformation that is the roost thermodynamically favored, i.e., has the lowest "free energy." Routinely, conformations that have a free energy within 5% or 10% of the optimal conformation are also determined. Most often these nearly optimal conformations are closely related to each other, for example the position of a small bubble can differ by one or two nucleotides. As used herein a RNA strand is said to be "normally single stranded" when it is single stranded in the conformation having the lowest free energy or a free energy equivalent to the lowest free energy. The algorithm that is implemented by these programs is described in Zuker et al., 1989, SCIENCE 244:48. The number of steps needed to calculate the lowest free energy state of a polynucleotide, according to the algorithm of Zuker is proportional to the cube of length of the polynucleotide. At present, conformations of 2 KB polynucleotides can be routinely calculated while the calculations of polynucleotides that are the length of the entire RSV antigenome («15 KB) are burdensome. However, because of the kinetics of the intramolecular hybridization of polynucleotides, it is unlikely that conformations involving hybridization between widely separated portions of the polynucleotide do in fact occur even if the modeling programs indicate that they would yield a lower free energy state. Thus, no practical purpose is served by calculating the thermodynamically most stable conformation of the entire RSV antigenome. Rather, for the purposes of the invention, the conformation of the RSV antigenome can be calculated using fragments that are about 1-2 KB in length. If the predicted conformation of a particular portion of the RSV antigenome is dependent upon the length or the boundaries of the nucleotide fragment that is modeled, then the modeling program of the shorter fragment, greater than 1 KB in length, and the fragment wherein the portion is located closest to the middle of the fragment is considered to be the "normally" occurring conformation. There are several major considerations in selecting which portions of the antisense genome are suitable as targets. 1. Since the RNase L is active only on single-stranded sequences and not on double-stranded sequences, it is important that there be significant stretches of non-base-paired or minimally base-paired nucleotides near the chosen RNA target sequence. 2. Since the RNase L prefers cleavage after UNp sequences, it is preferred that the single-stranded region where cleavage may occur should contain uridine. This is preferred but not essential as it has been shown that the activator-antisense complex can direct cleavage to other nucleotides. Maran et al. , 1994. 3. Since cleavage occurs on the 5'-side of the RNA target sequence, it is preferred that such uridine-containing single-stranded regions should be on the 5'-side of the target sequence. 4. Since the antisense domain of the activator-antisense complex must form a double-helical complex with an RNA target sequence, it is preferable that such a targeted sequence be located in a single-stranded or predominantly singly-stranded region of the target RNA. This is due to the consideration that such complex formation is an equilibrium process, and the magnitude of association constant for the process is reduced according to the degree and stability of secondary structure within the specific target sequence. 5. For the reasons expressed in (4) above, Zuker's MFOLD algorithm is used to generate a group of plausible RNA secondary structures. A set of structures can be generated using this program which differ only slightly in energy. Typically the folding program generates secondary structures differing in increments of 0.1 Kcal/mol, and are therefore are energetically very similar. 6. Consideration of (1-5) above leads to a search for the most preferred target sequence in an RNA target. This target ideally should be single-stranded throughout the entire sequence that serves as the antisense binding site as well as a region upstream on the RNA of at least 16 and preferable at least 21 nucleotides. Thus in the ideal situation the preferred target site should be the length of the antisense domain (e.g., 18) plus 16 equals 34 nucleotide in length. Thus, a search would be made for regions in a potential target RNA for single-stranded regions at least 34 nucleotides long and more preferably at least 45 nucleotides long. 7. One additional preference in the design of the activator-antisense complex relates to the composition of the antisense oligonucleotide. Because the activator-antisense complex operates catalytically, there must exist a necessary mechanism for the dissociation of the complex from its complementary sequence in the target RNA. Thus, it is to be expected that duplexes with a large fraction of GC base pairs would undergo dissociation with more difficulty than those having a large fraction dA-rU or dT-rA pairings. This consideration would also be a preferred design consideration. Figure 2A shows the results of the modeling of residues 7900-8800 of the mRNA or antigenomic strand. Figure 2A also contains indications of the locations of the antisense oligonucleotides that were tested in the Examples below. Figures 2B:1-2H:3 show alternative results of modeling residues segments of the RSV antisgenome from l to 7999, 1100 to 2400 and 2200 to 3300, respectively. Two or three different models of each region, with virtually equivalent energies, are shown. These plots indicate, for example, that preferred embodiments the invention target residues 2490- 2530, which is single stranded in all three models, residues 617-663, 3212-3247 and 5240-5288 which are single stranded in at least two of the models shown, and residues 718-772, which is single stranded in one of the three models. It must be remembered that the entire family of generated models differ only by 1.1 kcal/mol, and, therefore, each model represents conformations that can be assumed by the RSV antigenome. 5.2 THE STRUCTURE OF THE ACTIVATOR Examples of the structure of the activator are described in patent publication WO94/09129, at pages 10, 45 and 46-51, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Briefly, the activator can contain at least three riboadenylate residues, linked by 2 '-5'phosphodiester bonds, having a free 5' mono-, di- or triphosphate or thiophosphate. The 5' thiophosphate- tetra-adenylate activator (sp5'A2 ' (p5'A2 ' ) 3 -0-) is the preferred activator. Other activators include pδ'AΣ 1 (p5'A2') 2 -0-, S p5 • A2 ■ (p5•A2• ) 2 -0- , and p5'A2 ' (p5Α2 • ) 3 -0- Phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate linkages between adenine nucleosides can be used as well as phosphodiester. The use of these linkages results in decreased degradation but also decreased activity. Beigelmann, L. , et al., 1995, Nucleic Acid Research 23:3989-94. The use of a 5'- thiophosphate results in greatly improved activity and stability. Those skilled in the art appreciate that other nucleotides can be attached to the 3'hydroxyl or 2*hydroxyl of the 2'-5'tri- or tetra-adenylate without changing its activity as an RNase L activator. Thus, these embodiments are also included in the scope of the term "activator of RNase L." Those skilled in the art will further recognize that oligonucleotides containing bases other than adenine, such as inosine at the second nucleotide (counting 5'-*3') can also be used. Those skilled in the art also recognize that non-nucleotide activators of RNase L can be used in the invention and are equivalents of nucleotide activators. As used herein the term "2-5A" refers to any nucleotide activator of RNase L and the term "activator of RNase L" refers to any activator of RNase L including 2-5A. The term 2',5*A refers specifically to 2' ,5'-linked oligoadenylates. 5.3 THE STRUCTURE OF THE ANTISENSE OLIGONUCLEOTIDES The antisense oligonucleotide can have any structure now known or to be developed in the antisense art. These include phosphodiesters, phosphorothiodiesters, methylphosphonodiesters and methylphosphonothiodiesters, which provide for increased resistance to degradation after administration. The nucleotides of the antisense oligonucleotide can be 2'-deoxynucleotides or 2'O-methyl nucleotides. The preparation of modified and unmodified oligonucleotides is well known in the art (reviewed in Agrawal et al. (1992) Trends Biotechnol. 10:152-158; Agrawal in Protocols for Oligonucleotides and Analogs, Synthesis and Properties (Agrawal, ed.), Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey (1993) , Chapter 20) . For example, nucleotides can be covalently linked using art-recognized techniques such as phosphoramidate, H-phosphonate chemistry, or methylphosphoramidate chemistry (see, e.g., Uhlmann et al. (1990) Chem. Rev. 90:543-584; Agrawal et al. (1987) Tetrahedron. Lett. 28: (31) :3539-3542) ; Caruthers et al. (1987) Meth. Enzymol. 154:287-313; U.S. Patent 5,149,798). Oligomeric phosphorothioate analogs can be prepared using methods well known in the field such as methoxyphosphoramidite (see, e.g., Agrawal et al. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 85:7079-7083) or H-phosphonate (see, e.g., Froehler (1986) Tetrahedron Lett. 27:5575-5578) chemistry. The synthetic methods described in Bergot et al. (J. Chromatog. (1992) 559:35-42) can also be used. 5.4 THE STRUCTURE OF THE LINKER Any linker that covalently connects an activator of RNase L and the antisense oligonucleotide and does not prevent the activator from activating RNase L can used. In a preferred embodiment the linker is attached to the 3' or 2* terminus of a 2-5A activator. In a further preferred embodiment the linker consists of a bis-1,4-butanediol- phosphodiester which connects the 3' or 2' terminus of a 2-5A activator and the 5' or the 3' terminus of the antisense oligonucleotide. Attachment to a terminus of the antisense oligonucleotide is selected for the convenience of synthesis. Those skilled in the art appreciate that attachment to an internal 2• hydroxyl or to a portion of the nucleotide base that is not critical to base pairing are alternative embodiments of the invention. 5.5 USE OF THE ACTIVATOR-ANTISENSE COMPLEXES The activator-antisense complexes of the invention can be administered to a subject having an RSV infection by any route effective to deliver the activator-antisense complexes to the epithelium of the bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli of the subject. In one embodiment the activator-antisense complexes are delivered by use of an inhaled aerosol, according to the techniques well known in the art for the delivery of ribavirin. In a further embodiment of the invention a mixture of ribavirin and an activator-antisense complex of the invention can be administered in a common pharmaceutical carrier. In an alternative embodiment the activator-antisense complex can be administered parenterally, e.g., by intravenous infusion. When delivered by intravenous administration, the dose of activator-antisense complex can be determined by routine methods well known to pharmacologists so that the serum concentration approximates the concentration at which antiviral activity is seen in the in vitro examples described below, e.g., a concentration of about 10 xM of spAa-antiRSV3 '-3 'T/ (8281-8299) . When delivered by aerosol administration the dose should be selected so that the tissue concentration in the lung approximates the concentration at which antiviral activity is seen in the in vitro examples. EXAMPLES 6. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sequence conventions. The practice of the RSV literature, position 1 of the RSV genome (the virion RNA) is the 3' terminus; position 1 of the RSV antigenome (mRNA) is the 5* terminus. Thus, for example, the antisense oligonucleotide labeled antiRSV/ (8490-8509) has the sequence (5'-*3') of residues 8509 to 8490 of the RSV genome and is complementary to residues 8490-8509 of the RSV antigenome. Note, however, that the RSV strain A2 genome sequence of Figures 1:1-1:10 is in conventional 5' to 3' order. Hereinafter activator-antisense complexes wherein the activator is a 2',5'A are termed "2-5A antisense chimeras." Synthesis and purification of 2-5A antisense chimeras. Oligonucleotide Structural Types Synthesized. The following generic oligonucleotide types were prepared for this study. I. p5•A2 'p(5»A2 'p) 3 -[O(CH 2 ) 4 0p]2-5•dN3 •p(5'dN3 'p) n 5 » dN II. A2'p(5 , A2'p) 3 -[0(CH2) 4 0p] 2 -5 , dN3'p(5 , dN3 , p) o 5 , dN III. dNS'pfS'dNS'phδ' N IV. p5 'A2 •p(5 'A2 'p) 3 -[O(CH 2 ) 4 0p] 2 -5 •dN3 •p(5 'dN3 'p) m 5 'dN3 'p- 3 •pdN5 ' V. sp5 , A2 , p(5 » A2'p) 3 -[0(CH 2 ) 4 Op] 2 -5'dN3 , p(5»dN3 , p) m 5 , dN3 , p- 3 'pdN5 • VI. A2 •p(5 'A2 •p) 3 -[O(CH 2 ) 4 0p] 2 -5 'dN3 'p(5 •dN3 'p) m 5 •dN3 •p- 3 'pdN5 ' VII. sp5 , A2 , p(5 , A2'p) 3 -[0(CH 2 ) 4 Op] 2 -5 , dN3 , p(5'dN3 , p) n 5'dN VIII. p5 , A2 , p(5 , A2'p) 3 -[0(CH 2 ) 4 Op] 2 -3 , dN5' (p3 'dN5 ' ) jp3 'dN The following procedures are illustrative of those employed to synthesize the 2-5A-antisense chimeric oligonucleotides in classes I - VIII above. In general, they follow the synthetic strategy developed in Lesiak et al., 1993. Reagents and Chemicals Employed. 1. For initiation of synthesis on solid support: dA-3'-lcaa-CPG (500 A) 5 '-O-dimethoxytrityl-Nβ-benzoyl-2 •-deoxyadenosine-3 ' - lcaa-CPG dC-3« lcaa-CPG (500 A) 5 '-0-dimethoxytrityl-N4-benzoyl-2 •-deoxycytidine-3 •- lcaa-CPG dG-3' lcaa-CPG (500 A) 5 » -0-dimethoxytrityl-N2-isobutyryl-2 •-deoxyguanosine-3 '- lcaa-CPG dT-3 1 -lcaa-CPG (500 A) 5•-O-dimethoxytritylthymidine-3 '-lcaa-CPG These solid supports were used to synthesize oligonucleotides with the normal 3'→5' phosphodiester bonds. All were 1 μmole size. These DMT protected nucleosides are attached to controlled pore glass (CPG) through a succinyl group and a long chain alkyl amine (lcaa) linker are commercially available products of Applied Biosystems (Foster City, CA) . These supports were employed in the synthesis of generic oligonucleotide types I, II, III, and VII. dA-5 » -lcaa-CPG (500 A) 3 •-O-dimethoxytrityl-N6-benzoyl-2 '-deoxyadenosine-5•- lcaa-CPG dC-5' lcaa-CPG (500 A) 3 '-0-dimethoxytrityl-N4 -benzoyl-2 '-deoxycytidine-5 '- lcaa-CPG dG-5' lcaa-CPG (500 A) 3 '-0-dimethoxytrityl-N2-isobutyryl-2 '-deoxyguanosine-5'- lcaa-CPG dT-5'-lcaa-CPG (500 A) 3 '-O-dimethoxytritylthymidine-5•-lcaa-CPG These solid supports were obtained form Glen Research (Sterling, VA) and were used to synthesize oligonucleotides with the reversed polarity 5'-*3' phosphodiester bonds. All were 1 μmole size. These supports were employed for the synthesis of generic oligonucleotide types IV, V, VI, and VIII. 2. Elongation of the DNA antisense chain. For normal 3'-*5' phosphodiester bond oligonucleotides, a total of 500 mg of each of the following phosphoramidites (Applied Biosystems) was dissolved in the indicated amount of anhydrous acetonitrile to make a 0.1 M phosphoramidite solution: 5•-0-dimethoxytrityl-N6-benzoyl-2 '-deoxyadenosine-3 '-(2- cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropyl)phosphoramidite (5.6 mL) 5'-0-dimethoxytrityl-N4-benzoyl-2'-deoxycytidine-3 ' (2- cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropyl)phosphoramidite (5.9 mL) 5 '-0-dimethoxytrityl-N2-isobutyryl-2 '-deoxyguanosine-3 '-(2- cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropyl)phosphoramidite (5.8 mL) 5 '-O-dimethoxytrityl-2 '-deoxythymidine-3 '-(2-cyanoethyl-N,N- diiso propyl)phosphoramidite (6.6 mL) The foregoing were used in the preparation of generic oligonucleotide types I, II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII. For the synthesis of oligonucleotides with all DNA phosphodiester bonds with reversed polarity, the following phosphoramidites were obtained from Glen Research (Sterling, VA) . 3 •-0-dimethoxytrityl-N6-benzoyl-2 '-deoxyadenosine-5 '-(2- cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropyl)phosphoramidite (5.6 mL) 3'-o-dimethoxytrityl-N4-benzoyl-2 • -deoxycytidine-5' (2- cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropyl)phosphoramidite (5.9 mL) 3•-0-dimethoxytrityl-N2-isobutyryl-2'-deoxyguanosine-5'-(2- cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropyl)phosphoramidite (5.8 mL) 3'-0-dimethoxytrityl-2'-deoxythymidine-5'-(2-cyanoethyl-N,N- diisopropyl)phosphoramidite (6.6 mL) The above intermediates were employed to synthesize generic oligonucleotide type VIII. 3. Linker to join chimeric domains. The linker, (2-cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropyl)-[4-0-(4,4'- dimethoxytrityl) butyl]phosphoramidite, was synthesized by a modification of an earlier described procedure (Lesiak et al., 1993), and a 0.1 M solution was made by dissolving 100 mg linker in 1.7 mL of anhydrous acetonitrile. 4. For synthesis of 2' ,5*-oligoadenylate domain of the chimera. 5'-0-dimethoxytrityl-N6-benzoyl-3'-0-t- butyldimethylsilyladenosine-2 •-N,N-di- isopropylcyanoethylphosphoramidite (ChemGenes Corp. , Waltham, MA, cat no. ANP 5681). A 0.1 M solution was made by dissolving 500 mg of monomer in 5.0 mL of anhydrous acetonitrile. 5. Phosphorylation Reagent for 5'-terminus of 2',5'- oligoadenylate domain of chimera. 2-[2-(4,4'-dimethoxytrityl)ethylsulfony1]ethyl-(2- cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)-phosphoramidite (Glen Research, Sterling, VA. cat no. 10-1900-90) was used at a concentration of 0.2 M in anhydrous tetrazole/acetonitrile (ABI) for semi-automated synthesis. 6. Other Reagents. All other DNA synthesis reagents were obtained from Applied Biosystems Inc. which includes diluent (acetonitrile) , activator solution (tetrazole/acetonitrile) , capping solutions (A: acetic anhydride solution and B: N- methylimidazole solution) , deblocking reagent (trichloroacetic acid solution) , oxidizer (iodine solution) , and tetraethylthiuram disulfide sulfurization reagent. Tetrabutylammonium fluoride in tetrahyrofuran (Aldrich, Milwaukee, WI) was used to deblock the t - butyldimethylsilyl group used for protection of the 3'-hydroxyIs of (2',5')~ oligoriboadenylate domain. 7. SYNTHESIS PROCEDURE The 2' ,5'-oligoadenylate/antisense chimeras were synthesized by modified automated or semi-automated procedure. All of the chemicals were dried over P 2 0 5 in vauco overnight before use. The 1 μmole deoxynucleoside-lcaa-CPG column was used. The core (2' ,5')-oligoadenylate/antisense chimera refers to the complete 2' ,5'A-antisense chimera minus the 5'- terminal monophosphate group and has three regions defined for synthetic purposes: an antisense region, a linker region, and (2• ,5')-oligoadenylate region. The 2',5'A-antisense chimera was synthesized by the automated method listed in Table 1. 1 μmole scale standard synthesis cycle was used. The cycle was modified by changing the coupling time (coupling of monomer) for each different region. The monomer/ acetonitrile solution was installed on the DNA synthesizer by a double change procedure to avoid contaminants. After the synthesis of each region, the column was dried completely by Argon for at least 3 min. and the synthesis cycle, trityl mode, and sequence were edited for the synthesis of next region of the desired oligonucleotide. For preparation of core 2',5'A-antisense chimeras without a 5'-monophosphate group, the final step was omitted in Table 1. For semi-automated preparation of the 5'- monophosphate terminating chimeras, the core oligonucleotide was synthesized with the trityl group on, and the column was dried and removed from the DNA synthesizer. The 5'-end phosphorylation was performed manually according to the procedure presented in Table 2. Cleavage and Deprotection 1. The oligonucleotide was cleaved from the CPG support by concentrated ammonium hydroxide/ethanol (3:1 v/v) at room temperature for 2 hours. 2. The ammonium hydroxide/ethanol solution of crude oligonucleotide was removed into a 3 mL vial and sealed tightly. The solution was incubated at 55°C for 8 hours to remove the protecting groups on the bases. 3. The resulting ammonium hydroxide/ethanol solution of oligonucleotide was transferred to a glass tube, and cooled completely in a ice-bath. The solution was then evaporated to dryness in a speedvac concentrator and a solution of tetrabutylammonium fluoride (2 mL, 1.0 M) in THF was added, and the entire mixture was vortexed for at least 1 min. This reaction mixture was allowed to incubate at room temperature for at least 10 hours. An equivalent volume of 0.1 M TEAA (tetraethylammonium acetate) (pH 7.0) buffer was added, mixed and evaporated to half volume to remove THF. The residue was subjected to purification by HPLC. Purification of the Oligonucleotides 1. Polystyrene Reverse-Phase Ion-Pair Chromatography (PRP-IPC) Protocol (a modification of the method of Swiderski, et al., 1994). The oligonucleotide was dissolved in about 4 - 5 mL water to make a clear solution (centrifuged if necessary) , and the clear solution was directly injected into the PRP-1 HPLC column (300 x 7 mm) . The reaction mixture was thus simultaneously desalted and purified. Solvent A: 10 mM tetrabutyl ammonium phosphate (TBAP) , pH 7.5 in water. Solvent B: 10 mM TBAP, pH 7.5 in acetonitrile/water (8:2 v/v). The sample was eluted with a convex gradient of 5 - 90% solvent B in A in 60 min. at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. Fractions containing desired oligo were pooled and evaporated to about 1 - 2 mL. The oligo-TBA ion-pair was converted into its sodium salt form by the following procedure: 1 mL of Dowex 50W ion exchange wet resin (Na + form) was added into oligonucleotide/water solution. The solution was stirred for at least 30 min. in the cold room. The resin was removed by passing the solution through a Poly-Prep chromatography column (Bio-Rad, Cat. # 731-1550) . The resin was washed with extra water until no oligonucleotide remained on the resin. Alternately, prior to Dowex treatment the oligonucleotide was passed through a C-18 Sep-Pak cartridge according to the following procedure. a. The C-18 cartridge was pre-washed with 10 mL methanol and 10 mL water. b. The oligo solution was loaded onto the cartridge. c. The cartridge was washed with 20 mL water to remove salt from the column. d. The oligonucleotide was eluted with 10 mL of 50% methanol in water. e. The desalted oligonucleotide was detected by UV spectrophotometer and the fractions containing oligo were combined and concentrated. Dialysis of (2' ,5' )-Oligoadenylate/antisense Chimeras After Purification by HPLC and ion exchange, the oligonucleotide (sodium salt) was dialyzed to remove small molecules and excess salt. The dialysis was carried out at 4°C. The oligonucleotide was dialyzed against 0.02 M NaCl first for 4 - 6 hours and then against water for 48 hours. If the oligonucleotide was desalted on C-18 sep-pak cartridges after HPLC purification, the time of dialysis can be shortened to 6-10 hours. Post-treatment of Oligoadenylate/antisense Chimeras The oligonucleotide, after dialysis, was passed through a 0.22 μ millex-GV filter unit (Millipore, Cat. No. SLGV025LS) for sterilization. The resulting solution was quantitated as O.D. A260 by UV/Vis spectrophotometry. Nucleotide composition analysis of (2* ,5')- Oligoadenylate/antisense Chimeras 1. Nucleotide Composition Analysis The nucleotide composition of the chimeric oligonucleotide were analyzed by enzymatic digestion with snake venom phosphodiesterase (Crotallus durissus) (Pharmacia, cat # 27,0821-01). A purified oligonucleotide (0.2 A260 O.D.U.) is incubated with snake venom phosphodiesterase (0.15 units) in 50 mM Tris/HCl, pH 8.0, 0.5 mM MgCl 2 , pH 8.0. The 100 μL mixture was incubated at 37°C for at least 3 hours. For chimeric oligonucleotides containing a 3'-3'dN, such as Oligonucleotide Structural Type IV (section 6) , the incubation time was extended to 10 hours. After digestion, the solution was treated with Microcon- 10 (Amicon, Inc. product No. 42406) . The microcon was first spin-rinsed with water before addition of 100 μL sample solution. The centrifuge time was typically 45 min. The clear solution was used for HPLC analysis. An aliquot (5 - 10 μL) of the hydrolysate was analyzed by reverse phase HPLC using a Beckman Ultrasphere C-18 ODS column (0.46 x 25 cm) . Separation of the digestion products was accomplished under the following conditions: 2% B isocratically for 20 min. linear gradient 2 - 50% B for 15 min. and held isocratically 10 min where solvent A was 100 mM ammonium phosphate, pH 5.5 and solvent B was methanol/water (1:1 v/v). The flow rate was 0.5 mL/min. The standard markers dCMP, TMP, dGMP, AMP and dAMP (Aldrich Chem. Co.) were used to compare retention times and elution orders of the hydrolysis products. Typically, the peaks obtained from the enzymatic hydrolysis of an oligonucleotide had retention times of 9.7 min. (dCMP) , 27.3 min. (TMP), 29.6 min. (dGMP), 31.7 min. (AMP), 39.5 min. (Alinker) and 41.2 min. (dAMP). The retention times varied depending on the column, pH value of mobile phase and the equilibrium times of the column. The integrated peak areas provided the relative content of each nucleotide. The extinction coefficients of 7610 (dCMP) , 8158 (TMP) , 9969 (dGMP) , 12342 (AMP & Alinker) , 14361 (dAMP) measured at 260 nm in 100 mM ammonium phosphate, pH 5.5 were used in the analysis. Oligonucleotide Purity Confirmation The purities of (2' ,5*)-oligoadenylate/antisense chimeras were checked by HPLC or gel capillary electrophoresis (GCE) . The purity was obtained by the integration of peak area detected at 260 nm. 1. Gel Capillary Electrophoresis (GCE) Method The measurement of oligonucleotide purity was performed on an Applied Biosystems 270A-HT capillary electrophoresis instrument using MICRO-GEL100 (Applied Biosystems Inc.) gel filled capillaries (50 uM i.d., effective length 27 cm, running buffer, 75 mM Tris phosphate (pH 7.6), 10% methanol). Detection was at 260 nm. A typical electrophoregram of (2• ,5')-oligoadenylate/antisense chimera was obtained by the following conditions: sample concentration was approx. 0.1 O.D./mL, electrokinetic injection was 2 s at -5kv. Voltage was -14 mA (19 mA) and the operation temperature was 30 β C. Under this condition, the (2' ,5')-oligoadenylate/antisense chimera had about 1 min. earlier elution time than that of its core analogue. 2. Dionex PA-100 Ion Exchange HPLC Method The purities of oligonucleotides could also be measured by a Dionex Ion exchange HPLC. Usually, the dionex PA-100 ion exchange column could provided higher resolution and better peak shape compared with other HPLC chromatographic method for the analysis of (2 ', 5•) -oligoadenylate/antisense chimera. A typical chromatogram of (2 ',5')- oligoadenylate/antisense was obtained by the following conditions: Dionex PA-100 (4 x 250 mm) column (Dionex, cat # 43010) . Solvent A was 25 mM Tris/HCl and 0.5% acetonitrile (pH 7.0), solvent B was 25 mM Tris/HCl, 0.5% acetonitrile and 1 M ammonium chloride (pH 7.0). The sample was eluted in linear gradient of 10 - 70% B in A during 30 min. and held isocratically for 10 min. at a flow rate of l mL/min. Detection was at 260 nm. Cell culture, RSV propagation and infection, and viral titer assays. The human tracheal epithelial cell line, 9HTE, (Gruenert et al., 1988) and CV-1 cells, (American Type Culture Collection, Rockville, MD, CCI#70) a green monkey kidney cell line which is highly permissive to RSV infection, were cultured in minimal essential medium (MEM) supplemented with 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum (FBS) , 2 mM L-glutamine, IX MEM amino acids solution, IX MEM non-essential amino acids solution, 100 U/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin and 0.25 μg/ml amphotericin B ("culture medium") (all reagents from Gibco BRL, Bethesda, MD) . RSV strain A 2 (ATCC No. VR1302) was propagated in CV-1 cells. CV-1 monolayers were infected at a multiplicity of infection (M.O.I.) of 0.2 and cultured 46 h in MEM, 2% FBS, IX Penicillin/Streptomycin (PS) in 5% C0 2 , 95% 0 2 at 37°C. Cells were then washed 2 times in MEM and subsequently covered in MEM, 2% FBS, IX PS, 50 mM HEPES (pH7.5), 100 mM Mg(S0 4 ). After 2 h at 37°C, cells were scraped and sonicated as previously described (Panuska et al., 1995). Aliquots (1 ml each) of cell sonicates were flash frozen in ethanol/dry ice within 20 min of scraping. Several aliquots were then thawed and titered by a plaque assay on CV-1 cells as previously described (Cirino et al., 1993) . The range of virus yield from this procedure was 2 to 7 X 10 6 plaque forming units (pfu) per ml. Oligonucleotide, interferon α and ribavirin treatments of 9HTE cells before and after RSV infection. Infection of 9HTE cells was performed as previously described (Merolla et al., 1994) . Briefly, confluent monolayers were exposed to RSV diluted in MEM, 2% FBS, for 2 h at 37°C in 5% C0 2 , 95% 0 2 . After exposure, cells were washed two times with serum-free MEM media and then fresh culture media (with 10% FBS) was added. Oligonucleotides were either added 4 h prior to infection (t^) or immediately after infection (t +2 ) and also at t +14 and t +26 . Cells were harvested for plaque assays at 36 h post-infection to determine viral titers as previously described (Cirino et al., 1993). Cells were washed twice to remove any residual antisense and were then scraped in MEM containing 2% FBS, IX PS. 9HTE cells were sonicated for 20 sec on ice then the extracts were serially diluted and transferred to a confluent monolayer of CV-1 for quantitation of infectious viral particles. CV-1 were exposed to sonicated 9HTE for 2 h then washed once in MEM and overlaid with Eagle's minimal essential medium (EMEM, BioWhittaker, Walkersville, MD) containing 2% FBS, 200 U/ml penicillin, 200 μg/ml streptomycin, 0.5 μg/ml amphotericin B, and 0.4% agarose. Five days later, cells were fixed in 10% formalin for 1 h, the agarose plugs removed, and 0.2% crystal violet in 10% formalin was added for 2 min. CV-1 were subsequently washed in water to remove excess dye and the number of syncytia (plaques) were quantified under a microscope. In certain experiments (data not shown) , interferon α (Schering, Intron A, interferon α-2B, 10 5 U/ml) or Ribavirin (ICN Pharmaceuticals, Costa Mesa, CA, 100 μg/ml) were also added after infection. Interferon a was added to a final concentration of 50 U/ml when chimeric antisense was added, i.e. t +2 , t +14 and t +26 . In contrast, ribavirin, which has a half-life of 40 days in vivo, was added only at t +2 to a final concentration of 10 13 M. Reverse transcriptase-coupled polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) RNA was collected from 2xl0 5 9HTE cells at 8 h post- infection (M.O.I.=10) by RNAzol treatment as described by the manufacturer (Tel-Test, Inc, Freindswood, TX) . RNA was isolated after 8 h to limit RSV replication to a single cycle. Isolated RNA (~1 μg) was incubated with 100 pmoles of the appropriate downstream (-) primer listed below or 100 pmoles of random hexamer (used for glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, GAPDH, mRNA only) . RNA and primers were heated to 70°C for 10 min then cooled rapidly on ice for 5 min. A final reaction volume of 30 ml contained: 300 μM each dNTP, 200 U Superscript reverse transcriptase (GibcoBRL, Bethesda, MD) , 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), 75 mM KC1, 3 mM MgC12, and 10 mM DTT. Reverse transcription was allowed to proceed for 1 h at 37 β C. PCR reactions were performed using 50 μl Hot-Start tubes (Molecular Bio-Products, San Diego, CA) with 25 μl lower buffer containing 40 mM Tris-HCl (pH=8.4), 100 mM KC1, 2 mM MgC12, 600 μM each dNTP, and 100 pmoles each of the appropriate primer pairs; ANNEALING TARGET SEQUENCE TEMP RSV(L+) (Seq ID N0:l) [5 -TCAATGGTCCTTATCTCAA-3 • ] 46 • C RSV(L-) (Seq ID NO:2) [5 -GAGCTTTATTAGCAGCATC-3 ' ] GAPDH(+) (Seq ID NO:3) [5 -AAATCCCATCACCATCTTC-3 ' ] 57°C GAPDH(-) (Seq ID NO:4) [5 -CACCACCCTGTTGCTGTAG-3 ' ] RSV(M2+) (Seq ID NO:5) [5 -AAACAATCAGCATGTGTTG-3 • ] 46°C RSV(M2-) (Seq ID NO:6) [5 -AATGTAACGATGTGGTGAG-3 ' ] 25 μl Hot-Start upper buffer contained 5 U Taq DNA polymerase (GibcoBRL) and 1/lOth of the cDNA from the RT reaction. 30 cycles of PCR were performed with 1 min at 92°C, 1.5 min at the annealing temperature indicated above, and 2 min at 72°C. Aliquots of the RT/PCR mixtures were analyzed on 1% agarose/TBE gels. EXAMPLE 8. RESULTS 2-5A antisense inhibits RSV replication in previously infected human tracheal epithelial cells. To develop 2-5A antisense chimeras with the potential to block RSV replication, we first selected an oligonucleotide binding site in the viral RNA polymerase (RSV L) mRNA, which encodes a low abundance message that is absolutely required for RSV replication. The first chimera synthesized and evaluated was pA 4 -antiRSV/(8490-8509) . The binding sites for the chimeric oligonucleotide's antisense domain are to the transcripts of nucleotides 8490-8509 in the RSV genome, which spans the translation start codon for the L protein, and to nucleotides 8490-8509 of the antigenomic strand (the template for reproduction of the genome) . Since to function as an effective treatment, a candidate agent must be able to inhibit viral replication subsequent to diagnosis, the anti- RSV effect of the 2-5A antisense chimera was determined on human tracheal epithelial cells, 9HTE, with treatments beginning either 4 h before RSV infection (pre-/post- infection treatments) or 2 h following infection (post- infection treatments) . In the post-infection treatments, pA*- antiRSV/(8490-8509) at (10 μM final concentration), was added at t +2 , t +14 and t +26 , (numbers represent time in h relative to time of infection, t 0 ) . For pre-infection treatment, pAi- antiRSV/(8490-8509) (10 μM final concentration), was added at t. 4 , and t 0 in addition to t +2 , t +14 and t +26 . Virus harvested from control and oligonucleotide-treated 9HTE cells was measured by infecting CV-1 cells and subsequently counting viral plaques (see Materials and Methods) . Post-infection treatment of 9HTE cells with pA 4 -antiRSV/(8490-8509) was found to be just as effective as pre-/post-infection treatment; both resulted in about 70% inhibition of RSV replication. On the basis of these experiments, all subsequent experiments were performed with post-infection treatments only. Additionally, these experiments indicate the potential use of these compounds as a treatment for active infection as compared to a prophylactic measure. Antiviral activities of 2-5A antisense and control chimeric oligonucleotides directed against the viral L polymerase mRNA translation start site. An initial series of oligonucleotides included various controls and additional modifications designed to stabilize the chimeras against enzymatic decay in the cell culture (Table 3) . To compare the antiviral effects of these oligonucleotides, 9HTE cells were infected with RSV and subsequently treated three times (t +2 , t +14 , and t +26 h) with three concentrations of oligonucleotides (3.3, 6.6 and 9.9 μM) and virus was harvested after 36 h. Chimeric antisense lacking only the 5'-phosphate, in j-antiRSVS'-3'C/ (8490- 8509) , deficient in the ability to activate RNase L (Maran et al., 1994), was used as a control. This derivative showed only minimal anti-RSV activity (28.3% inhibition at 9.9 μM/treatment as compared to 64.8% inhibition by the 5'- phosphorylated derivative, pA 4 -antiRSV3'-3'C/(8490-8509) ) . To stabilize the 3* termini of the chimeras, these ends were masked. In one derivative, pA 4 -3'antiRSVS'/(8490-8509) , the 2-5A portion of the chimera was linked to the 3 ' end of the antisense moiety instead of to the 5' end of the oligonucleotide. In this way, the 3' terminus of the antisense is protected from exonuclease digestion though its attachment to the linker (G.L., W.X., & P.F.T., unpublished observations) . This analog produced a 69% inhibition of virus production at the highest concentration tested (9.9 μM) (Table 3). In another chimera, pA 4 -antiRSV3'-3'C/(8490-8509) , the 3' terminal deoxynucleotide was connected by a 3 '-3' phosphodiester linkage to the penultimate deoxynucleotide thereby slowing 3' exonuclease digestion (G.L., W.X., & P.F.T., unpublished observations). This compound produced a 1.6-fold enhanced antiviral activity at 6.6 μM (64.3% inhibition) compared with the standard, unmodified chimera, pA 4 -antiRSV3*-3'C/ (8490-8509) tested at the same concentration (38.8% inhibition). Alternately, a 5'-thiophosphate was used to stabilized the 2-5A domain of the chimera against phosphatase. Such thiophosphorylated derivatives of 2-5A and 2-5A antisense were previously shown to be fully capable of activating RNase L when compared to standard, 5'- phosphorylated, 2-5A and 2-5A antisense (Xiao et al., 1994 and Maran et al., 1994). spA 4 -antiRSV/ (8490-8509) showed a substantially increased anti-RSV effect with 71% and 94% inhibition of viral growth at treatment concentrations of 6.6 and 9.9 μM, respectively (Table 3). EXAMPLE 9. SELECTION OF TARGET Selection of highly effective 2-5A antisense chimera based on a computer analysis of the RNA secondary structure. A computer-assisted analysis of the secondary structure of the RSV mRNA was performed to identify single-stranded regions as oligonucleotide binding sites. Computer prediction of the secondary structure of RSV antigenomic strand, nucleotides 7900 to 9079, including a 3' portion of the M2 gene, encoding a viral envelope protein, and a 5' region of the L gene, was performed using the program MFOLD which finds a secondary structure of minimum free energy for an RNA molecule based on published values of stacking and loop destabilizing energies. MFOLD is the program of Michael Zuker (Zuker, 1989). The energies used by Zuker's program were first described by Salser (1977) and are now defined by Turner and colleagues (Freier et al., 1986). The analysis showed a large loop from positions 8250 to 8299. This loop was present in a 90 codon open reading frame of unknown function downstream (3 1 ) of the major M2 open reading frame. Three chimeric compounds were synthesized which were complementary to sequences in the loop, spA 4 -antiRSV3 •- •3A/ (8251-8270) , spA 4 -antiRSV3 '-3 'T/ (8261-8279) , and spA,- antiRSV3 '-3 'T/ (8281-8299) . In addition, three oligonucleotides were synthesized to other regions in RNA that included a bulge, a hair-pin and a small loop, spA 4 - antiRSV3'-3 'A/ (8530-8547) , spA,-antiRSV3 • -3 'C/ (8561-8578) , and spA 4 -antiRSV3 '-3 'G/ (8599-8618) , respectively. When added to the infected 9HTE cells at concentrations of 3.3 μM, the three oligonucleotide directed to the large loop had the greatest level of antiviral activity (78 to 91% inhibition) (Table 4) . These three oligonucleotides had very substantially improved anti-RSV activity compared to the previously described 2-5A antisense molecules (3 to 16.5% inhibition at 3.3 μM, see Table 3). The chimera with the greatest anti-RSV effect was spA 4 -antiRSV3 '-3 'T/ (8281-8299) , which produced 97 and 99.6% inhibition of RSV replication at doses of 6.6 and 9.9 μM, respectively. The oligonucleotide directed to the region in the RNA with the bulge, spA 4 - antiRSV3 '-3 'A/ (8530-8547) , showed almost no antiviral effect a 3.3 μM (Table 4). The 2-5A antisense molecules to the hairpin and small loop, sp j-antiRSVS '-3 'C/ (8561-8578) , and spA 4 -antiRSV3 '-3 'G/(8599-8618) , had intermediate activities, 57 and 43% inhibition of RSV replication at concentrations of 3.3 μM. Figure 3 presents a comparison of spA 4 -antiRSV3 •- 3'T/(8281-8299) and spA 2 -antiRSV3 »-3 'T/ (8281-8299) . Only the tetraadenylate is an activator of RNase L, hence the greater potency of the spAj-linked oligonucleotide compared to the spA 2 -linked oligonucleotide establishes the role of RNase L activity in the protective effects of the present invention. EXAMPLE 10. BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF RESULTS Correlation of antiviral activities and RNA levels after treatment of RSV-infected 9HTE cells with the 2-5A antisense chimeras. To determine if RSV RNA levels correlated with antiviral activity, RT-PCR analysis was performed on RNA isolated from RSV-infected and uninfected 9HTE cells with and without treatment with spA 4 -antiRSV3 '3 'T/ (8281-8299) or sp^- antiRSV3'3 'A/ (8530-8547) . An M2 RNA sequence in RSV (from nucleotides 7879 to 8465) was converted to cDNA and amplified by PCR (Materials and Methods) . M2 RNA from the RSV-infected cells produced an RT-PCR DNA product that was clearly visible. In contrast, there was no M2 RNA detected from the RSV-infected cells treated with spA 4 -antiRSV3 •3 'T/ (8281-8299) . The chimera directed against the RSV L mRNA and the corresponding sequence in the antigenomic RNA, spA 4 - antiRSV3 •3'A/ (8530-8547) , had little effect on levels of M2 RNA (17% inhibition) . Accordingly, the levels of viral M2 RNA were dramatically reduced in 9HTE cells treated with spA^ antiRSV3'-3'T/ (8281-8299) while those treated with a relatively inactive control chimera against the RSV L mRNA, spA 4 -antiRSV3'-3'A/(8530-8547) , had no affect on levels of M2 RNA. Levels of GAPDH transcripts were similar in all of these RNA preparations. These results showing loss of the specific RSV mRNA target are consistent with involvement of RNase L. EXAMPLE 11: OTHER ACTIVATOR-ANTISENSE COMPLEXES The secondary structure of the 5' terminus of the RSV antigenomic strand can be more readily disrupted than the internal portions. Thus, the following activator-antisense complexes can be used to practice the invention despite the absence of large loops in modeling of the secondary structure of the antigenomic strand. spA 4 -antiRSV3'-3'T/(l-19) : sp5'A2' (p5'A2') 3 -[ (Bu)p] 2 -(5'ttg (Seq ID NO:7) tac gca ttt ttt cgc ql ' ^ ' tδ ' ) S pA 4 -antiRSV3 » -3 ' T/ ( 51-69 ) : sp5 » A2 ' (p5 'A2 ' ) 3 - [ (Bu) p] 2 - (5 ' gta (Seq ID NO : 8 ) ctt ate aaa ttc tta t3 ' -3 ' t5 ' ) At the 3 '-terminus of the RSV genome, there is a block of about 50 nucleotides which is not incorporated into the protein encoding transcript of the 3*-proximal gene but which is transcribed to yield a small RNA species that has been called a "leader RNA." Evidence indicates that the exact 3'-end of the genome is the entry site for the RNA transcriptional machinery and that leader RNA synthesis, which involves termination at a purine-rich sequence at the leader-template-NP-gene boundary, is an obligatory prelude to progression of the transcriptase through the rest of the genome. In addition, since the 3'-end of the genome is where both replicative and transcriptional RNA synthesis initiate, this site provides a site at which the critical switch between the two kinds of RNA synthesis may operate. Finally, the 3 '-terminus of the RSV genome is rich in uridylate residues which may be more readily susceptible to cleavage by the 2-5A-dependent RNase. These functions of the 3 '-terminus of the genomic strand can be disrupted more readily than other portions of the genomic strand. Thus the following activator-antisense complexes, which bind to the genomic strand can be used to practice the invention. spA 4 -antiRSVGe3'-3'T/(l-18) : sp5'A2' (p5'A2 » ) 3 -[ (Bu)p] 2 -(5'acg (Seq ID NO:9) cga aaa aat gcg tac3'-3't5*) spAr-antiRSVGeS•-3'T/(84-101) (Seq ID NO:10): sp5'A2' (p5'A2') 3 -[ (Bu)p] 2 -(5'etc cct tgg tta gag atg3'-3't5') spA„-antiRSVGe3'-3 'T/(369-386) (Seq ID NO:11): sp5 » A2' (p5'A2 » ) 3 -[ (Bu)p] 2 -(5'gaa atg atg gaa tta aca3'-3't5') EXAMPLE 12: COMPARATIVE DATA OF spA 4 -antiRSV3'3'T/ (8281-8299) A comparison of the efficacies of spA 4 - antiRSV3'3'T/(8281-8299) treatement and conventional ribarvirin treatement can be obtained by determining the RSV- inhibitory concentration and the cytotoxic concentration of each compound. Cultures of the human laryngeal carcinoma cell line HEp-2 and the murine renal cell line MA-104 were established and infected with an MOI=0.005. Cultures were fed twice daily. Treatment with either ribavirin or spA 4 - antiRSV3 '3 *T/ (8281-8299) was begun simlutaneously with infection and continued for four days. Treatment was then withdrawn and the test read on day 5. The effects of treatment on RSV infection were reported as 1) an EC J0 , the concentration at which there was a 50% reduction in the observable cytopathic effects of infection and 2) an ECoo, the concentration at which there was a 90% reduction in viral production. The cytotoxic concentration, the IC 50 was taken as the concentration that resulted in a 50% reduction in cell number. Therapuetic efficacy is estimated by the Selectivity Index, which is the ratio of IC 50 /EC 50 . The results are shown in Tables 5 and 6. Table 5 shows that in HEp-2 cells spA 4 -antiRSV3 ' 3 'T/ (8281-8299) had an EC 50 of 0.3 μM; ribarvirin had an EC 50 of 4 μM. The IC 50 s were >10 μM and 41 μM, respectively. Thus, spA j -antiRSV3 ' 3 'T/ (8281- 8299) had an SI more than three fold higher than ribavirin. Table 6 shows the analogous results concerning MA-104 cells. The SI of spA 4 -antiRSV3 •3 'T/ (8281-8299) and ribavirin were found to be >500 and about 200, respectively. REFERENCES Beigelman, L., Matulic-AdamicJ., et al., Synthesis and biological activities of a phosphorodithioate analog of 2-5A. Nucleic Acid Research 23:3989-94. Balotta, C, Lusso, P., Crowley, R, Gallo, RC, Franchini, G. 1 993. Antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides targeted to the vpr gene inhibit human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication in primary human macrophages. J. Virology, 67: 4409-4414. Chebath, J., Benech, P., Revel, M and Vigneron, M. 1 987. Constitutive expression of (2'-5'l oligo A synthetase confers resistance to picomavirus infection. Nature 330, 587-588. Cirino, NM, Panuska, JR, Villani, A, Taraf, H, Rebert, NA, Merolla, R, Tsivitse, P, Gilbert, IA. 1993. Restricted replication of respiratory syncytial virus in human alveolar macrophages. J Gen Virol 74: 1527-1 537. Floyd-Smith, G, Slattery, E. and Lengyel, P. 1 981 . Interferon action: RNA cleavage pattern of a (2'-5') oligoadenylate-dependent endonuclease. Science 212: 1020-1032. Freier, SM, Kienzek, R, Jaegar, JA, Sugimoto, N, Caruthers, MH, Neilson, T, and Turner, DH. 1986. Improved free-energy parameters for predictions of RNA duplex stability. 1 989. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 83:9373-9377. Froelich, E.A. 1 994. SPI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Company Report, Pershing Division - Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Goodchild, J, Agrawal, S, Civeira, MP, Sarin, PS, Sun, D, Zamecnik, PC. 1 988. Inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus replication by antisense oligodeoxynucleotides. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 85: 5507-551 1 . Gribaudo, G, Lembo, D, Cavallo, G, Landolfo, S, and Lengyel, P. 1 991 . Interferon action: binding of viral RNA to the 40-kilodalton 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase in interferon-treated HeLa cells infected with encelphaiomyocarditis virus. J Virol 65, 1 748-1757. Gruβnert, DC, Basbaum, CB, Welsh, MJ, Li, M, Finkbeiner, WE, Nadel, JA. 1 988. Characterization of human tracheal epithelial cells transformed by an origin defective simian virus 40. Proc Nat Acad Sci, USA. 85: 5951 -5955. Hassel, B, Zhou, A, Maran, A, Silverman, RH. 1993. A dominant negative mutant of 2-5A- dependent RNase suppresses antiproliferative and antiviral effects of interferon, The EMBO Journal 12, 3297-3304. Heilman, C. 1 994. RFA: "Mechanism of RSV vaccine immunopotentiation" . N.I.A.I.D., N.I.H., Bethesda, MD. Lesiak, K.; Khamnei, S.; Torrence, P. F. 1 993. 2',5'-Oligoadenylate-antisense chimeras-synthesis and properties. Bioconjugate Chem , 4: 467-472. Letsinger, RL, Zhang, G, Sun, DK, Ikeuchi, T, Sarin, PS. 1 989. Cholesteryl-conjugated oligonucleotides: Synthesis, properties, and activity as inhibitors of replication of human immunodeficiency virus in cell culture. Proc Natl Acad Sci 86: 6553-6556. Maran, A, Maitra, RK, Kumar, A, Dong, B, Xiao, W, Li, G, Williams, BRG, Torrence, PF, Silverman, RH. 1994. Blockage of NF-kB signaling by selective ablation of an mRNA target by 2-5A-antisense chimeras. Science 265:789-792. Maitra, RK, Li, G, Xiao, W, Dong, B, Torrence, PF, and Silverman, RH. 1 995. Catalytic cleavage of an RNA target by 2-5A-antisense and 2-5A dependent RNase. J. Biol. Chem., 270: 1 5071 - 1 5075. Mclntosh, K, and Chanock, RM. 1 990. Respiratory syncytial virus. In Virology, 2nd edition. Edited by BN Fields, DM Knipe et al., Raven Press, Ltd, New York, pp. 1045-1072. Merolla, R, Rebert, NA, Tsivitse, P, Hoffmann, SP, Panuska, JR. 1 995. Respiratory syncytial virus replication in human lung epithelial cells: inhibition by tumor necrosis factor-a and interferon- a8247. Am J Rsp and Crit Care Med. Midulla, F, Villani, A, Panuska, JR, Dab, I, Kolls, JK, Merolla, R, Ronchetti, R. 1993. Concise Communication: Respiratory syncytial virus lung infection in infants: Immunoregulatory role of infected alveolar macrophages. J Inf Dis 1 68: 1 51 5-1 51 9. Panuska, JR, Hertz Ml, Taraf, H, Villani, A, Cirino, NM. 1 992. Respiratory syncytial virus infection of alveolar macrophages in adult transplant patients. Am Rev Resp Dis 145: 934-939. Panuska, JR, Merolla, R, Rebert, NA, Hoffmann, SP, Tsivitse, P, Cirino, NM, Silverman, RH, Rankin, JA. 1995. Respiratory syncytial virus induces interleukin 10 by human alveolar macrophages: suppression of early cytokine production and implications for incomplete immunity, submitted to J Clin Invest). Rysiecki, G, Gewert, DR, Williams, BRG. 1 989. Constitutive expression of a 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase cDNA results in increased antiviral activity and growth suppression. J Interferon Res 9, 649-657. Salser, W. 1977. Gtobin mRNA sequences: analysis of base pairing and evolutionary implications. Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology 42:985-1002. Silverman, RH. 1994. Fascination with 2-5A-Dependent RNase: A unique enzyme that functions in interferon action. J Interferon Res, 14: 101 -104. Swiderski, PM, Bertrand, EL, and Kaplan, BE (1994) Polystyrene reverse-phase ion-pair chomatography of chimeric ribozymes. Analytical Biochemistry, 216: 83 - 88. Torrence, PF, Maitra, RK, Lesiak, K, Khamnei, S, Zhou, A, and Silverman, RH . 1 993. Targeting RNA for degradation with a 2',5'-oligoadenylate-antisense chimera. Proc. Natl Acad Sci USA, 90: 1 300-1304. Wreschner, DH, James, TC, Silverman, RH, and Kerr, IM. 1981 . Ribosomal RNA cleavage, nuclease activation and 2-5A{ppp(A2'p)nA) in interferon-treated cells. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 1571 -1581 . Wreschner, DH, McCauley, JW, Skehel, JJ, and Kerr, IM. 1981 . Interferon action-sequence specificity of the ppp{A2'p)nA-dependent ribonuclease. Nature 289, 414-417. Xiao, W, Li, G, Lesiak, K, Dong, B, Silverman RH, and Torrence, PF. 1 994. Synthesis of a 5'- thiophosphate analogue of 2-5A, a phosphatase resistant activator of the 2-5A dependent ribonuclease. Bioorganic & Med. Chem. Letts: 4, 2609-2614, 1994. Zamecnik, PC, Goodchild, J, Taguchi, Y, Sarin, PS. 1986, Inhibition of replication and expression of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III in cultured cells by exogenous synthetic oligonucleotides complementary to viral RNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 83: 4143-41 46. Zisson, A. 1 993. Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Company Report. Hambrecht & Quest Institutional Research - Company Report. Zuker, M. 1989. Computer prediction of RNA structure. Methods in Enzymology 180:262-288. Table 1. Modified Procedure for the Synthesis of Core (2',5')-Oligoadenylate/antisense Chimeras synthesis region coupling time (sequence edit! (seconds) oligomer antisense 15 (DNΛ antisense) linker 300 ( ^'Joligoadenylate 600 Phosphorylation CO 60 O Table 2. Synthesis Procedure for 5'-Terminal Phosphorylation Step Solvent/reagent Time Volume 1. coupling 0.2 M phosphorylation reagent 3 min. 0.15 mL in tetrazole/acetonitrile Table 3. Antiviral activities of chimeric antisense against RSV L polymerase RNA translation start site. QligP / feite in RSV RNA) Structure of Compounds % Inhibition [oligonucleotide] / treatment): A4-antiRSV3'-3'C/(8490-8509) A2'p(A2 , p) 3 -[(Bu)pl2-(5'aat ggg ate cat ttt gtc c3'-3'c5') pA4-aπtiRSV/(M90-8509) pA2 l p(A2 > p)3-[([ } u)ph-(5 , aat gggntc cat III gtc cc3") oo pA 4 -3'antiRSV57(8490-8509) pA2 , p(A2 , p)3-[(Bu)p]2-(3'ccc tgt ttt ace tag ggt aaS'j pA 4 .antiRSV3'-3'C/ (8490-8509) pA2 , p(A2 , p) 3 -[(Bu)p]2-(5'aat ggg ate cat ttt gtc c3'-3'c5') spA4-antiRSV/(8490-8509) spA2 , p(A2'p)3-[(Bu)p -(5 , aat ggg ate cat ttt gtc cc3') Antiviral activity as determined by virus plaque assay at 36 hrs post-infection. In parentheses, are the number of times the experiments were done to produce the data. Results shown are the average of the percent inhibition data from 2 to 7 experiments, except for single experiment data. Percent inhibition is defined as [(infectious virus particles produced in oligonucleotide treated cells)/(infectious virus particles produced in untreated cells)]Xι00. M.O.I, was 2.0 p.f.u. per cell. Chimeric 2-5 A-antisense oligonucleotides are abbreviated according to the following convention employed herein for added clarity. The 2-5A I domain of the chimera is indicated in bold-face capitalized type; i.e., pA2'p(A2'p) 3 . The linker moiety is abbreviated as [(Bu)p which stands for two 1,4-butanediol molecules linked through phosphodiester bonds to each other and the 2-5A and antisense domains of the chimera; i.e., -[(Bu)p] 2 . The antisense oligonucleotide is represented in lower case bold-face type in triplet repeats with normal 3',5' phosphodiester linkages in the polarity shown; i.e., (3'ccc tgt ttt ace tag ggt aa5')- Exceptions include the inversion of polarity for the entire chain or for the terminal 3'- nucleotide, both of which are clearly indicated. When the 5'-monophosphate of the 2-5A domain of the chimera was modified to the 5'- thiophosphate, the abbrevation used is spA2'p(A2'p) 3 . Table 4. Antiviral activities of stabilized chimeric antisense against different sites in RSV M2 and L mRNAs. QligP / (Site in RSV RNA) Stmrhirp of Compounds [oligonucleotide] / treatment): spA j -antiRSV3'-3'N Series: spΛ 4 -antiRSV3' 3"Λ/ (8530-8547) spΛ2 , p(Λ2 , p).v[(Btι)pl2-(5 , cla t g git aj;n laa ac.V-3 «ι5') spΛ 4 -antiRSV3' 3'G/(8599-8618) spA2 , p(A2 , p) 3 -|(Bu)p]2-(5'gat aag gac cat tga ala t3'-3'g5') spA -antiRSV3' 3'C/(8561-8578) spA2 , p(A2'p) 3 -[(Bu)ρi2-(5 , ctc tga gaa aga gat aa3'-3'c5') spA4-antiRSV3'- 3: T/(8261-8279) spA2 , p(A2 , p) 3 -[(Bu)p]2-(5'gat tga aat ata gtg tgt3'-3 , t5') spA 4 -antiRSV3' • 3A/(8251-8270) spA2 , p(A2'p) 3 -I(Bu)p]2-(5'ata gtg tgt tct ttt gat t3'-3'a5') spA 4 -antiRSV3' 3'T/(8281-8299) spA2 , p(A2 , p) 3 -l(Bu)p]2-(5 , atg gtt att tgg gtt gtt3'-3't5') see legend to Table 3. Table 5. ANTIVIRAL ACTIVITY of spA4-anHRSV3 , -3'T /(8281) Hep-2 Cells Neutral Red Compound EC S 0 IC 50 SI spA4-antiRSV3 , -3'T /(8281) 0.3 μM >10 μM >33 Ribavirin 4 μM 41 μM 1 0 determined with RSV strain A2, MOI = 0.005 Fresh medium and oligo or ribavirin added twice daily for 4 d and test read on d 5. EC S0 effective concentration to reduce RSV-induced CPE by 50%. IC 5 o 50% inhibitory concentration for cytotoxicity to cells (visual and dye uptake as determined in rapidly dividing cells as opposed to stationary cells used for viral assays. SI selectivity index = IC 5 o/EC 50 Table 6. ANTTVTRAL ACTIVITY of spA4-antiRSV3'-3'T /(8281) MA-104 Cells Visual CPE and Virus Yield Reduction Compound EC 50 EC 90 IC S 0 SI spA4-antiRSV3'-3'T /(8281) 0.02 μM 0.02 μM >10 μM >500 Ribavirin 1 μM 7 μM 210 μM 210 as determined with RSV strain A2, MOI = 0.005 Fresh medium and oligo or ribavirin added twice daily for 4 d and test read on d 5. EC 50 effective concentration to reduce RSV-induced CPE by 50%. EC 90 effective concentration to reduce RSV yield by 90%. IC S0 50% inhibitory concentration for cytotoxicity to cells (visual and dye uptake as determined in rapidly dividing cells as opposed to station ary cells used for viral assays.) SI selectivity index = IC 50 EC SO SEQUENCE LISTING (1) GENERAL INFORMATION (i) APPLICANT: Cleveland Clinic Foundation and National Institutes of Health (ii) TITLE OF THE INVENTION: RNase L Activators and Antisense Oligonucleotides Effective to Treat RSV Infections (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 23 (iv) CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS: (A) ADDRESSEE: Pennie & Edmonds LLP (8) STREET: 1155 Avenue of the Americas (C) CITY: New York (D) STATE: NY (E) COUNTRY: U.S.A. (F) ZIP: 10036 (v) COMPUTER READABLE FORM: (A) MEDIUM TYPE: Diskette (B) COMPUTER: IBM Compatible (C) OPERATING SYSTEM: DOS (D) SOFTWARE: FaβtSEQ Version 2.0 (vi) CURRENT APPLICATION DATA: (A) APPLICATION NUMBER: unfiled (B) FILING DATE: (C) CLASSIFICATION: (vii) PRIOR APPLICATION DATA: (A) APPLICATION NUMBER: 60/011,725 (B) FILING DATE: 2/15/96 (viii) ATTORNEY/AGENT INFORMATION: (A) NAME: Poisβant, Brian M. (B) REGISTRATION NUMBER: 28,462 (C) REFERENCE/DOCKET NUMBER: 8656-009-228 (ix) TELECOMMUNICATION INFORMATION: (A) TELEPHONE: 212-790-9090 (B) TELEFAX: 212-869-9741 (C) TELEX: (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:lι (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: RSV (L+) (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:l: TCAATGGTCC TTATCTCAA 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: RSV (L-) (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2: GAGCTTTATT AGCAGCATC 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: GAPDH (+) (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3: AAATCCCATC ACCATCTTC 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: GAPDH (-) (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4: CACCACCCTG TTGCTGTAG 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: RSV (M2+) (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5: AAACAATCAG CATGTGTTG 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: RSV (M2-) (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6: AATGTAACGA TGTGGTGAG 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Activator-antisense complex (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: βpA4-antiRSV3*-3'T/(1-19) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7: TTGTACGCAT TTTTTCGCG 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Activator-antisense complex (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: spA4-antiRSV3'-3 "t /(51-69) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8: GTACTTATCA AATTCTTAT 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 18 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Activator-antisense complex (B) LOCATION: 1...18 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: spA4-antiRSVGe3 '-3'T/ (1-18) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:9: ACGCGAAAAA ATGCGTAC 18 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 18 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Activator-antisense complex (B) LOCATION: 1...18 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: BpA4-antiRSVGe3 '-3*T/(84-101) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 10: CTCCCTTGGT TAGAGATG 18 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:ll: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 18 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Activator-antisense complex (B) LOCATION: 1...18 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: spA4-antiRSVGe3'T/ (369-386) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11: GAAATGATGG AATTAACA 18 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (i ) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: A4-antiRSV3'-3C/(8490-8509) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12: AATGGGATCC ATTTTGTCC 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 20 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...20 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: pA4-antiRSV/(8490-8509) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13: AATGGGATCC ATTTTGTCCC 20 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 20 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...20 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: pA4-3'antiRSV5'/(8490-8509) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14: AATGGGATCC ATTTTGTCCC 20 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: pA4-antiRSV3'-3 ' C/(8490-8509) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15: AATGGGATCC ATTTTGTCC 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 20 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...20 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: spA4-antiRSV/(8490-8509) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16: AATGGGATCC ATTTTGTCCC 20 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...17 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: spA4-antiRSV3 • -3'A/(8530-8547) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17: CTATCGGTTA GATAAAC 17 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:18: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairβ (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: spA4-antiRSV3'-3 'G/(8599- 8618) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:18: GATAAGGACC ATTGAATAT 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:19: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...17 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: spA4-antiRSV3'-3'C/(8561-8578) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:19: CTCTGAGAAA GAGATAA 17 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:20: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 18 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: 1inear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...18 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: apA4-antiRSV3'-3"T/(8261-8279) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:20: GATTGAAATA TAGTGTGT 18 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:21: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Other (B) LOCATION: 1...19 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: Oligonucleotide apA4-anti RSV3 • -3 'A/(8251-8270) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:21: ATAGTGTGTT CTTTTGATT 19 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:22: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 18 base pairβ (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: Oligonucleotide (B) LOCATION: 1...18 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: βpA4-antiRSV3'-3'T/(8281-8299> (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:22: ATGGTTATTT GGGTTGTT 18 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:23: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 15222 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: 1inear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: RSV-A2 (B) LOCATION: 1...15222 (D) OTHER INFORMATION: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:l: ACGCGAAAAA ATGCGTACAA CAAACTTGCA TAAACCAAAA AAATGGGGCA AATAAGAATT 60 TGATAAGTAC CACTTAAATT TAACTCCCTT GGTTAGAGAT GGGCAGCAAT TCATTGAGTA 120 TGATAAAAGT TAGATTACAA AATTTGTTTG ACAATGATGA AGTAGCATTG TTAAAAATAA 180 CATGCTATAC TGATAAATTA ATACATTTAA CTAACGCTTT GGCTAAGGCA GTGATACATA 240 CAATCAAATT GAATGGCATT GTGTTTGTGC ATGTTATTAC AAGTAGTGAT ATTTGCCCTA 300 ATAATAATAT TGTAGTAAAA TCCAATTTCA CAACAATGCC AGTACTACAA AATGGAGGTT 360 ATATATGGGA AATGATGGAA TTAACACATT GCTCTCAACC TAATGGTCTA CTAGATGACA 420 ATTGTGAAAT TAAATTCTCC AAAAAACTAA GTGATTCAAC AATGACCAAT TATATGAATC 480 AATTATCTGA ATTACTTGGA TTTGATCTTA ATCCATAAAT TATAATTAAT ATCAACTAGC 540 AAATCAATGT CACTAACACC ATTAGTTAAT ATAAAACTTA ACAGAAGACA AAAATGGGGC 600 AAATAAATCA ATTCAGCCAA CCCAACCATG GACACAACCC ACAATGATAA TACACCACAA 660 AGACTGATGA TCACAGACAT GAGACCGTTG TCACTTGAGA CCATAATAAC ATCACTAACC 720 AGAGACATCA TAACACACAA ATTTATATAC TTGATAAATC ATGAATGCAT AGTGAGAAAA 780 CTTGATGAAA AACAGGCCAC ATTTACATTC CTGGTCAACT ATGAAATGAA ACTATTACAC 840 AAAGTAGGAA GCACTAAATA TAAAAAATAT ACTGAATACA ACACAAAATA TGGCACTTTC 900 CCTATGCCAA TATTCATCAA TCATGATGGG TTCTTAGAAT GCATTGGCAT TAAGCCTACA 960 AAGCATACTC CCATAATATA CAAGTATGAT CTCAATCCAT AAATTTCAAC ACAATATTCA 1020 CACAATCTAA AACAACAACT CTATGCATAA CTATACTCCA TAGTCCAGAT GGAGCCTGAA 1080 AATTATAGTA ATTTAAAATT AAGGAGAGAT ATAAGATAGA AGATGGGGCA AATACAAAGA 1140 TGGCTCTTAG CAAAGTCAAG TTGAATGATA CACTCAACAA AGATCAACTT CTGTCATCCA 1200 GCAAATACAC CATCCAACGG AGCACAGGAG ATAGTATTGA TACTCCTAAT TATGATGTGC 1260 AGAAACACAT CAATAAGTTA TGTGGCATGT TATTAATCAC AGAAGATGCT AATCATAAAT 1320 TCACTGGGTT AATAGGTATG TTATATGCGA TGTCTAGGTT AGGAAGAGAA GACACCATAA 1380 AAATACTCAG AGATGCGGGA TATCATGTAA AAGCAAATGG AGTAGATGTA ACAACACATC 1440 GTCAAGACAT TAATGGAAAA GAAATGAAAT TTGAAGTGTT AACATTGGCA AGCTTAACAA 1500 CTGAAATTCA AATCAACATT GAGATAGAAT CTAGAAAATC CTACAAAAAA ATGCTAAAAG 1560 AAATGGGAGA GGTAGCTCCA GAATACAGGC ATGACTCTCC TGATTGTGGG ATGATAATAT 1620 TATGTATAGC AGCATTAGTA ATAACTAAAT TAGCAGCAGG GGACAGATCT GGTCTTACAG 1680 CCGTGATTAG GAGAGCTAAT AATGTCCTAA AAAATGAAAT GAAACGTTAC AAAGGCTTAC 1740 TACCCAAGGA CATAGCCAAC AGCTTCTATG AAGTGTTTGA AAAACATCCC CACTTTATAG 1800 ATGTTTTTGT TCATTTTGGT ATAGCACAAT CTTCTACCAG AGGTGGCAGT AGAGTTGAAG 1860 GGATTTTTGC AGGATTGTTT ATGAATGCCT ATGGTGCAGG GCAAGTGATG TTACGGTGGG 1920 GAGTCTTAGC AAAATCAGTT AAAAATATTA TGTTAGGACA TGCTAGTGTG CAAGCAGAAA 1980 TTATGAATTA TACACTCAAC AATGCCAAAA AAACCAATGT AACATTAAGC AAGAAAAGGA 6060 AAAGAAGATT TCTTGTTTTT TTGTTAGGTG TTGGATCTGC AATCGCCAGT GGCGTTGCTG 6120 TATCTAAGGT CCTGCACCTA GAAGGGGAAG TGAACAAGAT CAAAAGTGCT CTACTATCCA 6180 CAAACAAGGC TCTAGTCAGC TTATCAAATG GAGTTAGTGT CTTAACCAGC AAAGTGTTAG 6240 ACCTCAAAAA CTATATAGAT AAACAATTGT TACCTATTGT GAACAAGCAA AGCTGCAGCA 6300 TATCAAATAT AGAAACTGTG ATAGAGTTCC AACAAAAGAA CAACAGACTA CTAGAGATTA 6360 CCAGGGAATT TAGTGTTAAT GCAGGTGTAA CTACACCTGT AAGCACTTAC ATGTTAACTA 6420 ATAGTGAATT ATTGTCATTA ATCAATGATA TGCCTATAAC AAATGATCAG AAAAAGTTAA 6480 TGTCCAACAA TGTTCAAATA GTTAGACAGC AAAGTTACTC TATCATGTCC ATAATAAAAG 6540 AGGAAGTCTT AGCATATGTA GTACAATTAC CACTATATGG TGTTATAGAT ACACCCTGTT 6600 GGAAACTACA CACATCCCCT CTATGTACAA CCAACACAAA AGAAGGGTCC AACATCTGTT 6660 TAACAAGAAC TGACAGAGGA TGGTACTGTG ACAATGCAGG ATCAGTATCT TTCTTCCCAC 6720 AAGCTGAAAC ATGTAAAGTT CAATCAAATC GAGTATTTTG TGACACAATG AACAGTTTAA 6780 CATTACCAAG TGAAATAAAT CTCTGCAATG TTGACATATT CAACCCCAAA TATGATTGTA 6840 AAATTATGAC TTCAAAAACA GATGTAAGCA GCTCCGTTAT CACATCTCTA GGAGCCATTG 6900 TGTCATGCTA TGGCAAAACT AAATGTACAG CATCCAATAA AAATCGTGGA ATCATAAAGA 6960 CATTTTCTAA CGGGTGCGAT TATGTATCAA ATAAAGGGAT GGACACTGTG TCTGTAGGTA 7020 ACACATTATA TTATGTAAAT AAGCAAGAAG GTAAAAGTCT CTATGTAAAA GGTGAACCAA 7080 TAATAAATTT CTATGACCCA TTAGTATTCC CCTCTGATGA ATTTGATGCA TCAATATCTC 7140 AAGTCAACGA GAAGATTAAC CAGAGCCTAG CATTTATTCG TAAATCCGAT GAATTATTAC 7200 ATAATGTAAA TGCTGGTAAA TCCACCACAA ATATCATGAT AACTACTATA ATTATAGTGA 7260 TTATAGTAAT ATTGTTATCA TTAATTGCTG TTGGACTGCT CTTATACTGT AAGGCCAGAA 7320 GCACACCAGT CACACTAAGC AAAGATCAAC TGAGTGGTAT AAATAATATT GCATTTAGTA 7380 AC AAATAAA AATAGCACCT AATCATGTTC TTACAATGGT TTACTATCTG CTCATAGACA 7440 ACCCATCTGT CATTGGATTT TCTTAAAATC TGAACTTCAT CGAAACTCTC ATCTATAAAC 7500 CATCTCACTT ACACTATTTA AGTAGATTCC TAGTTTATAG TTATATAAAA CACAATTGAA 7560 TGCCAGATTA ACTTACCATC TGTAAAAATG AAAACTGGGG CAAATATGTC ACGAAGGAAT 7620 CCTTGCAAAT TTGAAATTCG AGGTCATTGC TTAAATGGTA AGAGGTGTCA TTTTAGTCAT 7680 AATTATTTTG AATGGCCACC CCATGCACTG CTTGTAAGAC AAAACTTTAT GTTAAACAGA 7740 ATACTTAAGT CTATGGATAλ AAGTATAGAT ACCTTATCAG AAATAAGTGG AGCTGCAGAG 7800 TTGGACAGAA CAGAAGAGTA TGCTCTTGGT GTAGTTGGAG TGCTAGAGAG TTATATAGGA 7860 TCAATAAACA ATATAACTAA ACAATCAGCA TGTGTTGCCA TGAGCAAACT CCTCACTGAA 7920 CTCAATAGTG ATGATATCAA AAAGCTGAGG GACAATGAAG AGCTAAATTC ACCCAAGATA 7980 AGAGTGTACA ATACTGTCAT ATCATATATT GAAAGCAACA GGAAAAACAA TAAACAAACT 8040 ATCCATCTGT TAAAAAGATT GCCAGCAGAC GTATTGAAGA AAACCATCAA AAACACATTG 8100 GATATCCATA AGAGCATAAC CATCAACAAC CCAAAAGAAT CAACTGTTAG TGATACAAAT 8160 GACCATGCCA AAAATAATGA TACTACCTGA CAAATATCCT TGTAGTATAA CTTCCATACT 8220 AATAACAAGT AGATGTAGAG TTACTATGTA TAATCAAAAG AACACACTAT ATTTCAATCA 8280 AAACAACCCA AATAACCATA TGTACTCACC GAATCAAACA TTCAATGAAA TCCATTGGAC 8340 CTCTCAAGAA TTGATTGACA CAATTCAAAT TTTTCTACAA CATCTAGGTA TTATTGAGGA 8400 TATATATACA ATATATATAT TAGTGTCATA ACACTCAATT CTAACACTCA CCACATCGTT 8460 ACATTATTAA TTCAAACAAT TCAAGTTGTG GGACAAAATG GATCCCATTA TTAATGGAAA 8520 TTCTGCTAAT GTTTATCTAA CCGATAGTTA TTTAAAAGGT GTTATCTCTT TCTCAGAGTG 8580 TAATGCTTTA GGAAGTTACA TATTCAATGG TCCTTATCTC AAAAATGATT ATACCAACTT 8640 AATTAGTAGA CAAAATCCAT TAATAGAACA CATGAATCTA AAGAAACTAA ATATAACACA 8700 GTCCTTAATA TCTAAGTATC ATAAAGGTGA AATAAAATTA GAAGAACCTA CTTATTTTCA 8760 GTCATTACTT ATGACATACA AGAGTATGAC CTCGTCAGAA CAGATTGCTA CCACTAATTT 8820 ACTTAAAAAG ATAATAAGAA GAGCTATAGA AATAAGTGAT GTCAAAGTCT ATGCTATATT 8880 GAATAAACTA GGGCTTAAAG AAAAGGACAA GATTAAATCC AACAATGGAC AAGATGAAGA 8940 CAACTCAGTT ATTACGACCA TAATCAAAGA TGATATACTT TCAGCTGTTA AAGATAATCA 9000 ATCTCATCTT AAAGCAGACA AAAATCACTC TACAAAACAA AAAGACACAA TCAAAACAAC 9060 ACTCTTGAAG AAATTGATGT GTTCAATGCA ACATCCTCCA TCATGGTTAA TACATTGGTT 9120 TAACTTATAC ACAAAATTAA ACAACATATT AACACAGTAT CGATCAAATG AGGTAAAAAA 9180 CCATGGGTTT ACATTGATAG ATAATCAAAC TCTTAGTGGA TTTCAATTTA TTTTGAACCA 9240 ATATGGTTGT ATAGTTTATC ATAAGGAACT CAAAAGAATT ACTGTGACAA CCTATAATCA 9300 ATTCTTGACA TGGAAAGATA TTAGCCTTAG TAGATTAAAT GTTTGTTTAA TTACATGGAT 9360 TAGTAACTGC TTGAACACAT TAAATAAAAG CTTAGGCTTA AGATGCGGAT TCAATAATGT 9420 TATCTTGACA CAACTATTCC TTTATGGAGA TTGTATACTA AAGCTATTTC ACAATGAGGG 9480 GTTCTACATA ATAAAAGAGG TAGAGGGATT TATTATGTCT CTAATTTTAA ATATAACAGA 9540 AGAAGATCAA TTCAGAAAAC GATTTTATAA TAGTATGCTC AACAACATCA CAGATGCTGC 9600 TAATAAAGCT CAGAAAAATC TGCTATCAAG AGTATGTCAT ACATTATTAG ATAAGACAGT 9660 GTCCGATAAT ATAATAAATG GCAGATGGAT AATTCTATTA AGTAAGTTCC TTAAATTAAT 9720 TAAGCTTGCA GGTGACAATA ACCTTAACAA TCTGAGTGAA CTATATTTTT TGTTCAGAAT 9780 ATTTGGACAC CCAATGGTAG ATGAAAGACA AGCCATGGAT GCTGTTAAAA TTAATTGCAA 9840 TGAGACCAAA TTTTACTTGT TAAGCAGTCT GAGTATGTTA AGAGGTGCCT TTATATATAG 9900 AATTATAAAλ GGGTTTGTAA ATAATTACAA CAGATGGCCT ACTTTAAGAA ATGCTATTGT 9960 TTTACCCTTA AGATGGTTAA CTTACTATAA ACTAAACACT TATCCTTCTT TGTTGGAACT 10020 TACAGAAAGA GATTTGATTG TGTTATCAGG ACTACGTTTC TATCGTGAGT TTCGGTTGCC 10080 TAAAAAAGTG GATCTTGAAA TGATTATAAA TGATAAAGCT ATATCACCTC CTAAAAATTT 10140 GATATGGACT AGTTTCCCTA GAAATTACAT GCCATCACAC ATACAAAACT ATATAGAACA 10200 TGAAAAATTA AAATTTTCCG AGAGTGATAA ATCAAGAAGA GTATTAGAGT ATTATTTAAG 10260 AGATAACAAA TTCAATGAAT GTGATTTATA CAACTGTGTA GTTAATCAAA GTTATCTCAA 10320 CAACCCTAAT CATGTGGTAT CATTGACAGG CAAAGAAAGA GAACTCAGTG TAGGTAGAAT 10380 GTTTGCAATG CAACCGGGAA TGTTCAGACA GGTTCAAATA TTGGCAGAGA AAATGATAGC 10440 TGAAAACATT TTACAATTCT TTCCTGAAAG TCTTACAAGA TATGGTGATC TAGAACTACA 10500 AAAAATATTA GAATTGAAAG CAGGAATAAG TAACAAATCA AATCGCTACA ATGATAATTA 10560 CAACAATTAC ATTAGTAAGT GCTCTATCAT CACAGATCTC AGCAAATTCA ATCAAGCATT 10620 TCGATATGAA ACGTCATGTA TTTGTAGTGA TGTGCTGGAT GAACTGCATG GTGTACAATC 10680 TCTATTTTCC TGGTTACATT TAACTATTCC TCATGTCACA ATAATATGCA CATATAGGCA 10740 TGCACCCCCC TATATAGGAG ATCATATTGT AGATCTTAAC AATGTAGATG AACAAAGTGG 10800 ATTATATAGA TATCACATGG GTGGCATCGA AGGGTGGTGT CAAAAACTGT GGACCATAGA 10860 AGCTATATCA CTATTGGATC TAATATCTCT CAAAGGGAAA TTCTCAATTA CTGCTTTAAT 10920 TAATGGTGAC AATCAATCAA TAGATATAAG CAAACCAATC AGACTCATGG AAGGTCAAAC 10980 TCATGCTCAA GCAGATTATT TGCTAGCATT AAATAGCCTT AAATTACTGT ATAAAGAGTA 11040 TGCAGGCATA GGCCACAAAT TAAAAGGAAC TGAGACTTAT ATATCACGAG ATATGCAATT 11100 TATGAGTAAA ACAATTCAAC ATAACGGTGT ATATTACCCA GCTAGTATAA AGAAAGTCCT 11160 AAGAGTGGGA CCGTGGATAA ACACTATACT TGATGATTTC AAAGTGAGTC TAGAATCTAT 11220 AGGTAGTTTG ACACAAGAAT TAGAATATAG AGGTGAAAGT CTATTATGCA GTTTAATATT 11280 TAGAAATGTA TGGTTATATA ATCAGATTGC TCTACAATTA AAAAATCATG CATTATGTAA 11340 CAATAAACTA TATTTGGACA TATTAAAGGT TCTGAAACAC TTAAAAACCT TTTTTAATCT 11400 TGATAATATT GATACAGCAT TAACATTGTA TATGAATTTA CCCATGTTAT TTGGTGGTGG 11460 TGATCCCAAC TTGTTATATC GAAGTTTCTA TAGAAGAACT CCTGACTTCC TCACAGAGGC 11520 TATAGTTCAC TCTGTGTTCA TACTTAGTTA TTATACAAAC CATGACTTAA AAGATAAACT 11580 TCAAGATCTG TCAGATGATA GATTGAATAA GTTCTTAACA TGCATAATCA CGTTTGACAA 11640 AAACCCTAAT GCTGAATTCG TAACATTGAT GAGAGATCCT CAAGCTTTAG GGTCTGAGAG 11700 ACAAGCTAAA ATTACTAGCG AAATCAATAG ACTGGCAGTT ACAGAGGTTT TGAGTACAGC 11760 TCCAAACAAA ATATTCTCCA AAAGTGCACA ACATTATACT ACTACAGAGA TAGATCTAAA 11820 TGATATTATG CAAAATATAG AACCTACATA TCCTCATGGG CTAAGAGTTG TTTATGAAAG 11880 TTTACCCTTT TATAAAGCAG AGAAAATAGT AAATCTTATA TCAGGTACAA AATCTATAAC 11940 TAACATACTG GAAAAAACTT CTGCCATAGA CTTAACAGAT ATTGATAGAG CCACTGAGAT 12000 GATGAGGAAA AACATAACTT TGCTTATAAG GATACTTCCA TTGGATTGTA ACAGAGATAA 12060 AAGAGAGATA TTGAGTATGG AAAACCTAAG TATTACTGAA TTAAGCAAAT ATGTTAGGGA 12120 AAGATCTTGG TCTTTATCCA ATATAGTTGG TGTTACATCA CCCAGTATCA TGTATACAAT 12180 GGACATCAAA TATACTACAA GCACTATATC TAGTGGCATA ATTATAGAGA AATATAATGT 12240 TAACAGTTTA ACACGTGGTG AGAGAGGACC CACTAAACCA TGGGTTGGTT CATCTACACA 12300 AGAGAAAAAA ACAATGCCAG TTTATAATAG ACAAGTCTTA ACCAAAAAAC AGAGAGATCA 12360 AATAGATCTA TTAGCAAAAT TGGATTGGGT GTATGCATCT ATAGATAACA AGGATGAATT 12420 CATGGAAGAA CTCAGCATAG GAACCCTTGG GTTAACATAT GAAAAGGCCA AGAAATTATT 12480 TCCACAATAT TTAAGTGTCA ATTATTTGCA TCGCCTTACA GTCAGTAGTA GACCATGTGA 12540 ATTCCCTGCA TCAATACCAG CTTATAGAAC AACAAATTAT CACTTTGACA CTAGCCCTAT 12600 TAATCGCATA TTAACAGAAA AGTATGGTGA TGAAGATATT GACATAGTAT TCCAAAACTG 12660 TATAAGCTTT GGCCTTAGTT TAATGTCAGT AGTAGAACAA TTTACTAATG TATGTCCTAA 12720 CAGAATTATT CTCATACCTA AGCTTAATGA GATACATTTG ATGAAACCTC CCATATTCAC 12780 AGGTGATGTT GATATTCACA AGTTAAAACA AGTGATACAA AAACAGCATA TGTTTTTACC 12840 AGACAAAATA AGTTTGACTC AATATGTGGA ATTATTCTTA AGTAATAAAA CACTCAAATC 12900 TGGATCTCAT GTTAATTCTA ATTTAATATT GGCACATAAA ATATCTGACT ATTTTCATAA 12960 TACTTACATT TTAAGTACTA ATTTAGCTGG ACATTGGATT CTGATTATAC AACTTATGAA 13020 AGATTCTAAA GGTATTTTTG AAAAAGATTG GGGAGAGGGA TATATAACTG ATCATATGTT 13080 TATTAATTTG AAAGTTTTCT TCAATGCTTA TAAGACCTAT CTCTTGTGTT TTCATAAAGG 13140 TTATGGCAAA GCAAAGCTGG AGTGTGATAT GAACACTTCA GATCTTCTAT GTGTATTGGA 13200 AT ATAGAC AGTAGTTATT GGAAGTCTAT GTCTAAGGTA TTTTTAGAAC AAAAAGTTAT 13260 CAAATACATT CTTAGCCAAG ATGCAAGTTT ACATAGAGTA AAAGGATGTC ATAGCTTCAA 13320 ATTATGGTTT CTTAAACGTC TTAATGTAGC AGAATTCACA GTTTGCCCTT GGGTTGTTAA 13380 CATAGATTAT CATCCAACAC ATATGAAAGC AATATTAACT TATATAGATC TTGTTAGAAT 13440 GGGATTGATA AATATAGATA GAATACACAT TAAAAATAAA CACAAATTCA ATGATGAATT 13500 TTATACTTCT AATCTCTTCT ACATTAATTA TAACTTCTCA GATAATACTC ATCTATTAAC 13560 TAAACATATA AGGATTGCTA ATTCTGAATT AGAAAATAAT TACAACAAAT TATATCATCC 13620 TACACCAGAA ACCCTAGAGA ATATACTAGC CAATCCGATT AAAAGTAATG ACAAAAAGAC 13680 ACTGAATGAC TATTGTATAG GTAAAAATGT TGACTCAATA ATGTTACCAT TGTTATCTAA 13740 TAAGAAGCTT ATTAAATCGT CTGCAATGAT TAGAACCAAT TACAGCAAAC AAGATTTGTA 13800 TAATTTATTC CCTATGGTTG TGATTGATAG AATTATAGAT CATTCAGGCA ATACAGCCAA 13860 ATCCAACCAA CTTTACACTA CTACTTCCCA CCAAATATCT TTAGTGCACA ATAGCACATC 13920 ACTTTACTGC ATGCTTCCTT GGCATCATAT TAATAGATTC AATTTTGTAT TTAGTTCTAC 13980 AGGTTGTAAA ATTAGTATAG AGTATATTTT AAAAGATCTT AAAATTAAAG ATCCCAATTG 14040 TATAGCATTC ATAGGTGAAG GAGCAGGGAA TTTATTATTG CGTACAGTAG TGGAACTTCA 14100 TCCTGACATA AGATATATTT ACAGAAGTCT GAAAGATTGC AATGATCATA GTTTACCTAT 14160 TGAGTTTTTA AGGCTGTACA ATGGACATAT CAACATTGAT TATGGTGAAA ATTTGACCAT 14220 TCCTGCTACA GATGCAACCA ACAACATTCA TTGGTCTTAT TTACATATAA AGTTTGCTGA 14280 ACCTATCAGT CTTTTTGTCT GTGATGCCGA ATTGTCTGTA ACAGTCAACT GGAGTAAAAT 14340 TATAATAGAA TGGAGCAAGC ATGTAAGAAA GTGCAAGTAC TGTTCCTCAG TTAATAAATG 14400 TATGTTAATA GTAAAATATC ATGCTCAAGA TGATATTGAT TTCAAATTAG ACAATATAAC 14460 TATATTAAAA ACTTATGTAT GCTTAGGCAG TAAGTTAAAG GGATCGGAGG TTTACTTAGT 14520 CCTTACAATA GGTCCTGCGA ATATATTCCC AGTATTTAAT GTAGTACAAA ATGCTAAATT 14580 GATACTATCA AGAACCAAAA ATTTCATCAT GCCTAAGAAA GCTGATAAAG AGTCTATTGA 14640 TGCAAATATT AAAAGTTTGA TACCCTTTCT TTGTTACCCT ATAACAAAAA AAGGAATTAA 14700 TACTGCATTG TCAAAACTAA AGAGTGTTGT TAGTGGAGAT ATACTATCAT ATTCTATAGC 14760 TGGACGTAAT GAAGTTTTCA GCAATAAACT TATAAATCAT AAGCATATGA ACATCTTAAA 14820 ATGGTTCAAT CATGTTTTAA ATTTCAGATC AACAGAACTA AACTATAACC ATTTATATAT 14880 GGTAGAATCT ACATATCCTT ACCTAAGTGA ATTGTTAAAC AGCTTGACAA CCAATGAACT 14940 TAAAAAACTG ATTAAAATCA CAGGTAGTCT GTTATACAAC TTTCATAATG AATAATGAAT 15000 AAAGATCTTA TAATAAAAAT TCCCATAGCT ATACACTAAC ACTGTATTCA ATTATAGTTA 15060 TTAAAAATTA AAAATCATAT AATTTTTTAA ATAACTTTTA GTGAACTAAT CCTAAAGTTA 15120 TCATTTTAAT CTTGGAGGAA TAAATTTAAA CCCTAATCTA ATTGGTTTAT ATGTGTATTA 15180 AC AAATTAC GAGATATTAG TTTTTGACAC TTTTTTTCTC GT 15222

Claims: E CLAIM : 1. A composition comprising a polynucleotide consisting essentially of: a) an antisense oligonucleotide, having a hydroxyl moiety at a first end, in which oligonucleotide is complementary to between 15 and 20 nucleotides of the antigenomic RNA strand of a strain of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus; b) a linker attached to the first end; and c) an oligonucleotide activator of RNase L attached to the linker. 2. The composition of claim 1, in which the antisense oligonucleotide is complementary to at least 15 contiguous nucleotides of the antigenomic RNA strand that are normally single stranded. 3. The composition of claim 1, in which the antisense oligonucleotide is complementary to a portion of a region of the antigenomic RNA strand that is normally single stranded, said region having greater than 34 nucleotides. 4. The composition of claim 1, in which the antisense oligonucleotide is complementary to a portion of a region of the antigenomic RNA strand that is normally single stranded, said region having greater than 45 nucleotides. 5. The composition of claim 1 in which the oligonucleotide activator is selected from the group consisting of sp5'A2' (p5'A2') 2 -0-, sp5'A2 ' (p5•A2 • ) 3 -0-, p5•A2 • (p5 •A2• ) 2 -0-, and p5'A2' (p5'A2 » ) 3 -0-. 6. The composition of claim 1 in which the first end is the 5' terminus, and the 3' terminal hydroxyl of the antisense oligonucleotide is blocked by a blocker selected from the group consisting of a -pS'NS' nucleotide, a p-O-alkylamine, a p-0- hydroxyalkylamine, a sp-O-alkylamine, a sp-O-hydroxyalkylamine, ethyl and methyl. 7. The composition of claim 1 in which the first end is the 3 ' terminus. 8. The composition of claim 1 in which the strain Respiratory Syncytial Virus is the A2 strain, and the portion of the antigenome is between residues 617-663 or residues 718-772, numbered in the 5'→3' direction. 9. The composition of claim 1 in which the strain Respiratory Syncytial Virus is the A2 strain, and the portion of the antigenome is between residues 2490 and 2530, numbered in the 5'→3' direction. 10. The composition of claim 1 in which the strain Respiratory Syncytial Virus is the A2 strain, and the portion of the antigenome is between residues 8251 and 8299, numbered in the 5'→3' direction. 11. The composition of claim 10, in which the antisense oligonucleotide is selected from the group consisting of residues 8251-8270, 8261-8279 and 8281-8299, numbered in the 5'→3 ' direction. 12. The composition of claim 1, in which the antisense oligonucleotide contains one or more phospho- oieties selected from the group consisting of phosphorothioate, methylphosphonate and methylphosphonothioate. 13. The composition of claim 1, in which the antisense oligonucleotide contains one or more 2'0-methyl nucleotides. 14. A composition which comprises an effective concentration of the polynucleotide of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. _ 5K3"l _ 15. The composition of claim 14, which comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable, aerosolizable carrier. 16. A method of treatment which comprises a step of forming in a subject having a Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection an effective amount of a complex comprising: a) an antisense oligonucleotide, in which the sequence of said oligonucleotide is complementary to between 15 and 20 nucleotides of a normally single stranded portion of the antigenomic RNA strand of a strain of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus; and b) an activated RNase L. 17. A method of treatment which comprises a step of administering to a subject having a Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection an effective amount of a composition comprising a polynucleotide consisting essentially of: a) an antisense oligonucleotide, having a hydroxyl moiety at a first end, in which the sequence of said oligonucleotide is complementary to between about 15 and 20 nucleotides of a normally single stranded portion of the antigenomic RNA strand of a strain of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus; b) a linker attached to the first end; c) an activator of RNase L attached to the linker; and d) a pharmaceutically acceptable, aerosolizable carrier. 18. A compound comprising an antisense oligonucleotide of 15 to 20 5'-3 '-linked nucleotides, which oligonucleotide is complementary to a portion of a RSV antigenomic RNA strand selected from the group consisting of residues 617-663, residues 718-772, residues 2490-2530, residues 3212-3247, residues 5240- 5288, and residues 8251-8299 of the RSV strain A2 genome, numbered in the 5'→3' direction. 19. The compound of claim 18 in which the antisense oligonucleotide is 18 or 19 5'-3 • -linked nucleotides.

Inventors: CIRINO NICK M, LI GUIYING, SILVERMAN ROBERT H, TORRENCE PAUL F, XIAO WEI, CIRINO, NICK, M., LI, GUIYING, SILVERMAN, ROBERT, H., TORRENCE, PAUL, F., XIAO, WEI
Applicants: CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION, NAT INST HEALTH, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, THE CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION
Application year: 1997
Main classification: A61K31
IPC codes: A61K31, A61K38, A61K48, A61P31, C07H21, C12N15, C12Q1, C12R1