New targets for antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis C
- File Under A-New targets for antiviral therapy, new hcv drugs
New targets for antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis C
Liver International
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- cyclophilin A;
- direct acting antiviral (DAA);
- miR-122;
- NS3 protease;
- NS5A protein;
- NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase;
- phosphatidylinositol-4-kinase III alpha;
- STAT-C;
- sustained viral response
Abstract
) and ribavirin (RBV). This situation has changed with the development of two drugs targeting the NS3/4A protease, approved for combination therapy with PEG-IFN
/RBV for patients infected with genotype 1 viruses. Moreover, two additional viral proteins, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (residing in NS5B) and the NS5A protein have emerged as promising drug targets and a large number of antivirals targeting these proteins are at different stages of clinical development. Although this progress is very promising, it is not clear whether these new compounds will suffice to eradicate the virus in an infected individual, ideally by using a PEG-IFN
/RBV-free regimen, or whether additional compounds targeting other factors that promote HCV replication are required. In this respect, host cell factors have emerged as a promising alternative. They reduce the risk of development of antiviral resistance and they increase the chance for broad-spectrum activity, ideally covering all HCV genotypes. Work in the last few years has identified several host cell factors used by HCV for productive replication. These include, amongst others, cyclophilins, especially cyclophilinA (cypA), microRNA-122 (miR-122) or phosphatidylinositol-4-kinase III alpha. For instance, cypA inhibitors have shown to be effective in combination therapy with PEG-IFN/RBV in increasing the sustained viral response (SVR) rate significantly compared to PEG-IFN/RBV. This review briefly summarizes recent advances in the development of novel antivirals against HCV.
) with ribavirin (RBV) leading to a sustained viral response (SVR), i.e. absence of viral RNA 6 months or more after cessation of therapy) of about 85%. Although success rates are much lower in case of infections with genotype 1 and 4 viruses, the recent approval of the first HCV-specific directly acting antivirals (DAA) that are given in a triple combination with PEG-IFN
/RBV has increased cure rates in genotype 1 naïve patients from around 55% to around 75%, at least under conditions of standardized clinical trials [5]. Given the large number of additional DAA that are currently being tested in clinical trials, it is expected that this number will increase further. Moreover, serious efforts are being made to develop an IFN
-free therapy to reduce the numerous side effects caused by the systemic administration of this cytokine. This review briefly summarizes the molecular aspects of the viral prime targets including host cell factors that are required for efficient HCV replication.Hepatitis C virus genome organization and replication cycle
-helix is shown in the middle panel. The three domains are given. Domains 1 (D1) of the two monomers form an RNA-binding cleft oriented towards the cytosol. D1 is composed of two subdomains (IA and IB); they are coloured in magenta and pink in one monomer and cyan and ice blue in the other monomer respectively. The zinc atoms of the zinc-binding motif in subdomain IA are shown as orange spheres. Domains 2 and 3 are intrinsically unfolded. The panel in the right shows the ribbon diagram of the NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase catalytic domain [65, 66] complexed with UTP (stick structure in yellow) and Mn ions (magenta sphere). The triphosphate moiety of a nucleotide bound to the priming site is indicated by the stick structure in grey. The carboxy-terminal membrane anchor is not shown. The fingers, palm and thumb subdomains are coloured in blue, red and green respectively. The thumb subdomain β-loop contributing to template binding is given in orange. Shown structures are based on the following Protein Data Bank accession codes: 1CU1 for NS3, 1GX6 for NS5B, 1R7E for NS5A N-terminal membrane anchor, and 1ZH1 for D1 structure.- NS3, a multi-functional enzyme with an amino-terminal serine protease domain and a carboxy-terminal RNA helicase/NTPase domain (Fig. 1B).
- NS4A, a co-factor of the NS3 protease forming a stable heterodimeric NS3/4A complex (Fig. 1B).
- NS4B, the presumed central organizer of the HCV replicase complex and a main inducer of intracellular membrane rearrangements.
- NS5A, an RNA-binding phosphoprotein required both for RNA replication and assembly of infectious virus particles (Fig. 1B).
- NS5B, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase catalysing the amplification of the viral RNA genome (Fig. 1B).
Cell culture systems supporting self-replicating hepatitis C virus RNAs
| HCV protein | Function in the HCV replication cycle | Development of inhibitor |
|---|---|---|
| Core + 1; mini-cores | ? | No |
| Core | Viral capsid protein; RNA-binding | Yes; pre-clinical |
| E1 | Envelope glycoprotein | Yes; e.g. neutralizing antibodies against E1, and E2; neutralizing antibodies or compounds targeting cellular receptors [reviewed in [6]] |
| E2 | Envelope glycoprotein; receptor binding | |
| p7 | Viroporin; assembly and release | Yes; various inhibitors [reviewed in [67]] |
| NS2 | Cysteine protease; assembly | No |
| NS3 | Serine protease; helicase | Yes; multiple compounds including two approved drugs [reviewed in [68]] |
| NS4A | Co-factor of the NS3 protease | Yes, e.g. ACH-1095 (http://www.achillion.com/HCV-overview) |
| NS4B | Induction of membrane rearrangements; main organizer of membranous HCV replication complex | Yes; e.g. clemizole [69] |
| NS5A | RNA replication and assembly | Yes; two inhibitor classes [34, 35] |
| NS5B | RNA-dependent RNA polymerase | Yes; NI and NNI [reviewed in [70]] |
Specifically targeted antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus (STAT-C)
Inhibitors of the NS3/4A protease
/RBV increases SVR to around 75% in naïve patients infected with genotype 1 virus. However, these drugs also cause side effects such as rash and anaemia leading, e.g. in case of telaprevir in around 15% of cases to discontinuation of therapy [27]. Moreover, these first generation DAA require rather complex treatment regimens such as strict time schemes when the drug must be taken (three times a day every 7–9 h), or a high load of pills, thus reducing adherence.
/RBV [27, 28]. Importantly, several of these mutations confer cross resistance to other protease inhibitors [reviewed in [29]]. For instance, the following resistance mutations have been reported with telaprevir (numbers in parenthesis refer to fold shift of the IC50 of the mutant as compared to the wild type): V36A/M/C (3.5- to 7-fold); T54A/S (6- to 12-fold); R155K/T/Q (8.5- to 11-fold); V36A/M + R155K/T (57- to 71-fold); A156V/T (74- to 410-fold); and V36A/M+A156V/T (>781-fold) [reviewed in [29]]. Interestingly, in case of R155K, only one nucleotide change is required for this amino acid substitution with genotype 1a, although two nucleotide changes are required with genotype 1b. This explains why the R155K variant is frequently found in treated patients with a genotype 1a virus infection whereas in genotype 1b patients this variant is virtually absent.Inhibitors of the NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase
-free therapy is possible using NIs alone.Inhibitors of the NS5A replicase protein
-helix with domain 1 [35]. Although some of these mutations reduce the antiviral efficacy of BMS-790052 around 1800-fold (Y93C) or even 3400-fold (L31V), because of the extremely high potency of this compound, the EC50 is still in the nanomolar range even for these resistance mutations.Inhibitors targeting host cell factors required for hepatitis C virus replication
/RBV [43, 44]. Moreover, a recent pilot study with genotype 3-infected patients suggests that even short-term monotherapy might be sufficient to achieve SVR [45].
(PI4KIII-
) that has been identified in several independent siRNA-based screenings [9, 57, 58, 59, 60]. It was shown that PI4KIII-
is required for structural integrity of the membranous HCV replication complex. The enzyme is recruited to the sites of viral replication via an interaction with domain I of NS5A triggering an activation of PI4KIII-
, which in turn leads to a massive accumulation of PI4-phosphate at intracellular membranes where HCV RNA replication occurs [57, 61]. Pharmacological inhibition of PI4KIII-
results in’a massive decrease of HCV RNA replication making this kinase a promising target for therapeutic intervention.Concluding remarks
-free therapy is possible in principle [62, 63]. Gane and colleagues have conducted a clinical trial (INFORM-1) based on a combination of two DAA: [1] RG7128, a NI with a high resistance barrier and [2] Danoprevir, a protease inhibitor with a low resistance barrier [62]. Patients infected with genotype 1 viruses were treated for 14 days and showed a marked decrease in viral load. Viral breakthrough could not be detected. The combination therapy was well-tolerated by patients and discontinuation was not observed. Together with other clinical data this study shows great promise that IFN
-free therapy of chronic hepatitis C is not a fiction, but might become reality in the not too distant future.

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