Scientists explain how hepatitis C virus survives in human liver
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Viral diseases remain one of the biggest problems in medical science. The millennium co-evolution of viruses has contributed to the development of their ability to use the human body for survival and reproduction, which makes treatment difficult.
Scientists from the University of North Carolina (USA) first showed how small RNA molecules that regulate gene expression in human liver cells are captured by the hepatitis C virus to ensure their own survival. Researchers hope that this discovery will help scientists in the near future develop new effective antiviral drugs.
MicroRNAs (MicroRNAs), when involved in the regulation of gene expression in cells, generally block the production of key proteins or destabilize RNA, which encode proteins necessary for cell growth and division. A research team of scientists found that the binding of microRNAs (microRNA-122) to liver cells with viral RNA results in its stabilization, promoting effective replication of the virus genome in the liver and supporting the life cycle of the virus.
"The hepatitis C virus has made two very interesting things with microRNA-122," says Stanley M. Lemon, MD, professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology, a member of the Cancer Center. "First, the interaction of the virus with microRNA-122 led to its unique relationship with the key regulator, since microRNA-122 accounts for about half of all microRNAs present in the liver. Second, the virus usurped the process of gene expression in its favor by violating the stability of RNA and the synthesis of viral proteins necessary for the continuation of its life cycle is a classic example of how viruses use the useful functions of cells for their own purposes, "the professor explained.
The work of Dr. Lemon and his colleagues in 2005 helped demonstrate the significance of microRNA-122 for the self-reproduction of the hepatitis C virus, but the mechanism of this process was not understood. Now the team of scientists was able to explain this mechanism with the help of a new experimental antiviral drug. The drug, called "Antagomer", binds to the microRNA-122 and thereby destabilizes the viral genome, accelerating its degradation in the liver.
The results of the last study are published in the journal Proceedings.
Hepatitis C is a serious public health problem that is difficult to detect at an early stage, as the symptoms of the disease appear only a few months or even years after infection. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4 million people in the United States can be infected with the hepatitis C virus, and most of them do not know that they are infected. More than a third of cases can develop chronic liver disease and liver cancer.
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