Antiviral therapy: Inhibition of Hepatitis C Virus expression by RNA interference directed against the NS5B region of the Viral Genome
Journal Title: Annals of Hepatology - Year 2007, Vol 6, Issue 3
Abstract
Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health problem with 170 million chronically infected people throughout the world. Currently, the only treatment available consists of a combination of pegylated interferon (INF-α) and ribavirin, but only half of the patients treated show a sufficient antiviral response. Thus there is a great need for the development of new treatments for HCV infections. RNA interference (RNAi) represents a new promising approach to develop effective antiviral drugs and has been extremely effective against HCV gene expression in short-term cell culture. Our aim was to determine the effect of RNAi directed against the NS5B-HCV region on HCV expression in a human hepatoma cell line that expresses HCV-subgenomic replicon (Huh7 HCV replicon cells).Methods: We transfected Huh7 HCV replicon cells with different concentrations of RNAi (100-200 nM) targeting the NS5B region of the viral genome. 2-6 days post-transfection HCV-RNA was quantified by semiquantitative and real-time RT-PCR, and HCV NS5B protein levels were assayed by western blot. Cell viability was also quantified by MTT assay. Results: Our results indicate that the NS5B-siRNAs used in this study can specifically inhibit HCV-RNA replication and protein expression (more than 90%) compared to control cells. Conclusions: Synthetic siRNA against NS5BHCV inhibited HCV replication and viral proteins levels and thereby becomes a powerful strategy to combat hepatitis C virus.
Authors and Affiliations
Laura Trejo-Ávila, Regina Elizondo-González, Karina Trujillo-Murillo, Pablo Zapata-Benavides, Cristina Rodríguez-Padilla, Ana Rivas-Estilla
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP77783
- DOI -
- Views 146
- Downloads 0
Shortened therapy for genotype 1 hepatitis C virus. The final answer?
Background & Aims. In hepatitis C virus genotype 1 (HCV-1) patients with a rapid viral decline within the first month of therapy, a 24-week course of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) alpha and ribavirin treatme...
Hepatocellular carcinoma: Epidemiological profile from a cohort of federal employees in Mexico
Introduction. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become a frequent type of cancer in Mexico. At the present time it represents the 19th cause of death in the population. Objective. To recognize the epidemiological profil...
Hepatic carcinosarcoma: clinicopathologic features and a review of the literature
Hepatic carcinosarcoma (HCS) is defined as a malignant tumor containing an intimate mixture of carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements. Here, we report the case of a 72-year-old man who developed HCS from an otherwise nor...
Swallowed chicken bone migration into the liver
Ultra-sensitive procalcitonin may help rule out bacterial infections in patients with cirrhosis
Background. Bacterial infections are frequent complications in patients with cirrhosis. Since they are associated with poor outcomes, antibiotics are frequently over-prescribed. Surrogate markers of bacterial infections,...