2'-O-Methylribonucleosides: Basic Reagents for RNA Biochemistry and Bioscience

2'-O-Methylribonucleosides are minor components of RNAs, and oligoribonucleotides containing these nucleosides have been synthesized to study their chemical, structural, and molecular biological behaviors. In the 1980s, oligo-2'-O-methylribonucleotide-RNA duplexes were noted for their high thermodynamic stability and resistance to degradation by nucleases.¹⁾
In the 2000s, synthetic 2'-O-methyl-modified small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes were reported to have high resistance to degradation by nucleases without significant loss of RNA interference activity.²⁾ In addition, 2'-O-methyl-modified- single stranded RNA (ssRNA) and siRNA duplexes were reported as abrogators of immune activation.³⁾ In addition, 2'-O-methylcytidine (3) showed as an inhibitor of RNA polymerase from the hepatitis C virus (HCV).⁴⁾