Know your enemy: translating insights about the molecular biology of hepatitis C virus into novel therapeutic approaches

Abstract

Identified in 1989 as the cause of what was then known as hepatitis non-A non-B, the hepatitis C virus (HCV) continues to be a significant global public health threat, given that an estimated 123 million individuals are chronically infected and, thus, at risk for cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. After 20 years of basic and clinical research into HCV infection, the backbone of therapy has remained interferon, a drug that – in a different formulation – was already being employed before HCV was even identified. Nonetheless, research has overcome many obstacles that stood in the way of studying this pre-eminent human pathogen. Hard-won insights into its molecular biology have identified promising therapeutic targets, and we are now on the verge of an era where rationally designed therapeutics, also referred to as specifically targeted antiviral therapy for HCV, will reshape the treatment of hepatitis C. This article describes recent insights on the molecular biology of HCV and the efforts to translate them into clinical applications.

Keywords::

• antiviral therapy
• chronic liver disease
• experimental model systems
• hepatitis C virus
• interferon
• polymerase inhibitor
• protease inhibitor
• ribavirin
• viral lifecycle

Acknowledgements

The authors thank S Haid for critical reading of the manuscript.

Financial & competing interest disclosure

Sandra Ciesek received a research grant from Novartis. Sandra Ciesek and Thomas Pietschmann received lecturer fees from Essex. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.