SAN FRANCISCO, CAOctober 10, 2010Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) have found that an enzyme associated with the storage of fat in the liver is required for the infectious activity of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). This discovery may offer a new strategy for treating the infection.
More than 160 million people are infected throughout the world, and no vaccine is available to prevent further spread of the disease. Current treatments are not effective against the most common strains in the US and Europe. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, shows that the enzyme DGAT1 is a key factor in HCV infection. With several potential DGAT1 inhibitors already in the drug-development pipeline, a treatment for HCV may be possible in the near future.
"Our results reveal a potential 'Achilles heel' for HCV infection," said Melanie Ott, MD, PhD, senior author on the study. "Several DGAT1 inhibitors are already in early clinical trials to treat obesity-associated diseases. They might also work against HCV."
At first glance, the HCV lifecycle is fairly simple. The virus enters the cell. One large protein is produced and cut into several smaller viral enzymes and proteins that build the virus. The RNA genome is copied, and the new RNAs and structural proteins are used to make new virus particles that are released into the blood stream for to infect more cells. These processes were thought to occur at specialized membranes inside the cell. However, recently it has been shown that fat droplets are critically involved.
Fat droplets, which store fat in cells, have become a hot new topic in biology. DGAT1 is one of the enzymes that help to form fat droplets. The Gladstone team, led by Eva Herker, PhD, discovered that HCV infection and viral particle production are severely impaired in liver cells that lack DGAT1 activity.
"DGAT enzymes produce the fat that is stored in the droplets t
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| Contact: Valerie Tucker vtucker@gladstone.ucsf.edu 415-734-2019 Gladstone Institutes Source:Eurekalert |
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