Posted: 17-Oct-2005 << BACK
A Japanese research team said it has found a method that prevents the hepatitis-C virus from multiplying.
The method deals with cells infected with the virus, not the virus itself, meaning that drugs could be developed to stop the multiplication process while preventing the virus from becoming resistant, the researchers said.
It is still unknown how hepatitis-C virus (HCV) multiplies once inside infected cells.
But researchers know that once the virus enters the cell, it develops a platform for multiplication by combining itself with certain lipid, an organic compound.
Using the lipid, the team at Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., led by Masayuki Sudo, pinpointed the platform inside cells where the HCV had combined itself with the lipid.
Without the platform, the HCV is unable to duplicate itself, the researchers said.
Using human liver cells, the team added a substance to the lipid that prevented it from combining with the HCV. Thus, the platform for multiplication could not synthesize, the researchers said.
"If we can target the mechanism of virus-infected cells, it could prompt the development of more effective drugs," Sudo said.
The team's report will be published on the Web site of the U.S. science journal Nature Chemical Biology on Monday. click here
An estimated 1 million to 2 million patients in Japan are infected with the hepatitis-C virus.
"HCV is troublesome because of its many mutations," said Takaji Wakita, senior researcher at Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, said. "If we can target something that is contained in the cells, we may be able to come up with drugs that would prevent the virus from developing resistance. We need to make sure of the side effects, including the possibility that the treatment could affect other cells."(IHT/Asahi: October 17,2005)
