Spontaneous Elimination of Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the etiological agent of chronic hepatitis C and a major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Only a minority of infected individuals can clear the virus spontaneously. The knowledge of the determinants of virus clearance would allow the development of effective methods preventing its further spread and optimizing treatment regimens. Viral factors associated with spontaneous virus clearance in the acute phase of infection, such as HCV genotype, virus heterogeneity, and the impact of viral proteins on the immune system have been characterized. Likewise, host genetic markers, such as the interleukin genotypes, HLA alleles, and factors affecting the T lymphocyte response appear to play an important role. Studies have revealed that natural clearance of HCV infection in the chronic phase is rare and its mechanisms are not well understood. In this review, we present the state-of-the art knowledge on the viral and host factors affecting the spontaneous elimination of HCV infection.

Soft, Wet‐Chemical Synthesis of Metastable Superparamagnetic Hexagonal Close‐Packed Nickel Nanoparticles in Different Ionic Liquids

“…[21,22] They appear particularly suited for the preparation of metal nanoparticles (M NPs). [23][24][25] The ionothermal synthesis in ionic liquids appearsh ighly promising, because of IL properties such as negligible vapor pressure, high thermals tability, high ionic conductivity, ab road liquid-state temperature range, and the ability to dissolve av ariety of materials. [23,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] Ionic liquids, especially with imidazolium cations (Scheme 2), are reported for the preparation and stabilization of metal nanoparticles, [23] which were prepared from metal salts with [36,37] or without reducing H 2 gas, [12,38] from organometallic p-complexes, [16-20, 39, 40] and from metal carbonyls [41,42,43] through thermal or photochemical [44] decomposition or electroreduction/electrodeposition.…”

“…[23,45] The electrostatic and steric properties of ionic liquids allow for the stabilization of MN Ps without the need of additional stabilizers, surfactants, or capping ligands. [23][24][25][26][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] Herein, we compare nickel(II) amidinate [Ni{MeC(NiPr) 2 } 2 ], in short [Ni(AMD) 2 ], and [Ni(COD) 2 ]( Scheme 1) as precursors in differentionic liquidstoyield nickel nanoparticlesa sstable colloids. The different ILs contained the cations 1-n-butyl-, 1-noctyl-, and 1-n-lauryl-3-methyl-imidazolium, 1-n-butyl-and 1-nlauryl-pyridinium, and1 -n-octyl-tetrahydrothiophenium in combination with tetrafluoroborate [BF 4 ] À ,h exafluorophosphate [PF 6 ] À ,a nd bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [NTf 2 ] À anions( Scheme 2).…”

Association of the Sialylation of Antibodies Specific to the HCV E2 Envelope Glycoprotein with Hepatic Fibrosis Progression and Antiviral Therapy Efficacy

“…The early production of bnAbs to E2 may contribute to controlling the virus, spontaneously curing the infection, and minimizing the masking of major conserved neutralizing epitopes with cross-reactive and interfering non-neutralizing Abs that usually appear later [ 6 , 11 ]. Strikingly, in the noninvasive diagnosis of liver damage, very little attention is being paid to the diversity of HCV specific Abs, in particular to their glycosylation, though it is widely accepted that immune system-mediated reactions are involved in the HCV infection pathogenesis and outcome, including spontaneous HCV clearance [ 2 , 17 , 36 , 37 ]. Since HCV is not cytopathic per se, the viral persistence and clinical outcome of the infection are likely due to variations in HCV capacity to escape the host innate and adaptive immunity.…”

Targeting the RdRp of Emerging RNA Viruses: The Structure-Based Drug Design Challenge

“…To date, licensed drugs that can eradicate HCV infection are available, and the World Health Program to eliminate HCV by 2030 is progressing with variable success, with diagnosing and treating all HCV carriers remaining the highest challenge. The advent of these drugs, including NS3 protease inhibitors, NS5A inhibitors, and one nucleoside analog RdRp inhibitor (sofosbuvir) has dramatically changed the fate of chronic HCV infection, avoiding long-term complications such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [43,44]. Many resources have been invested in the study of this virus and sofosbuvir is a key example in the development and testing of highly successful RdRp inhibitors.…”