Hepatitis C virus vaccine development: old challenges and new opportunities

Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV), an enveloped positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus, can cause chronic and end-stage liver diseases. Approximately 185 million people worldwide are infected with HCV. Tremendous progress has been achieved in the therapeutics of chronic hepatitis C thanks to the development of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs), but the worldwide use of these highly effective DAAs is limited due to their high treatment cost. In addition, drug-resistance mutations remain a potential problem as DAAs are becoming a standard therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Unfortunately, no vaccine is available for preventing new HCV infection. Therefore, HCV still imposes a big threat to human public health, and the worldwide eradication of HCV is critically dependent on an effective HCV vaccine. In this review, we summarize recent progresses on HCV vaccine development and present our views on the rationale and strategy to develop an effective HCV vaccine.

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Safety and Effectiveness of Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents for Treatment of Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Cirrhosis

Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology ◽

10.1016/j.cgh.2016.07.001 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 14 (12) ◽

pp. 1821-1830.e6 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Raoel Maan ◽

Marjolein van Tilborg ◽

Katja Deterding ◽

Alnoor Ramji ◽

Adriaan J. van der Meer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Hepatitis ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Virus Infection ◽

Antiviral Agents ◽

Hepatitis C Virus Infection ◽

Direct Acting Antiviral ◽

Chronic Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Direct Acting ◽

Direct Acting Antiviral Agents

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Changes in Serum Level of Autotaxin with Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C

QJM ◽

10.1093/qjmed/hcab100.040 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Khaled Mohamed Hussein Abdelwahab ◽

Shereen Abou Bakr Saleh ◽

Ghada Abdelrahman Ahmed ◽

Asmaa Mady Gomaa Mady

Keyword(s):

Chronic Hepatitis ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Serum Level ◽

Antiviral Therapy ◽

Chronic Hepatitis C ◽

Antiviral Treatment ◽

Post Treatment ◽

Direct Acting Antiviral ◽

Direct Acting

Abstract Background Hepatitis C virus virus is global health burden and major health hazard in Egypt, since the virus is the etiological factor of chronic hepatitis. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) accounts for approximately 15%-20% cases of acute hepatitis. After acute infection, around 50% to 80% of HCV patients will develop chronic infection. Approximately, HCV infects 170 million individuals worldwide). Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients are at high risk to develop lifethreatening complications, including cirrhosis in 20% of cases and hepatocellular carcinoma. Objectives The aim of this study was to validate Changes in serum level of autotaxin in patients with chronic hepatitis C before and after antiviral treatment. Patients and methods This study was designed as a prospective observational cohort study to evaluate Changes in serum levels of autotaxin with direct-acting antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C before (baseline) and after (sustained virologic response week 12) treatment. This prospective study was conducted on 48 chronic HCV infected patients eligible for antiviral treatment with direct acting antivirals, agreeable to regular follow up, recruited from Hepatology and virology outpatient clinic at DMNI (Damanhour Medical National Institute) during the period from September 2018 till Mars 2019. Results This study showed that Autotaxin level significantly decreased from baseline to 12 weeks post-treatment. ATX therefore represents a novel non-invasive biomarker for liver fibrosis and a prognostic indicator of disease activity. Conclusion Serum Autotaxin was found to be higher in chronic hepatitis c and ATX levels became significantly decreased from baseline to 12 weeks post-treatment with direct acting antiviral drugs in patients achieving a SVR.

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