July 28 is World Hepatitis Day

07/25 

Enemies that are known are easier to fight. The discovery of hepatitis C virus in 1989 is a perfect example of how scientific knowledge can be translated into clinical success. Before then, blood transfusions carried a significant risk of causing hepatitis, a chronic disease that can cause severe liver damage and cancer. But with discovery of the agent that causes the disease, blood may now be screened for presence of the virus. Also, new therapies have been discovered to fight the virus in infected patients, and for the first time, a chronic infection may now be cured with drugs. This remarkable success of translational research was recognized by the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded to H. J. Alter, M. Houghton, and C. M. Rice.

Like many RNA viruses, hepatitis C virus (HCV) hijacks cellular ribosomes and forces them to make a long viral polyprotein, which must then be clipped into functional pieces by a viral protease. Since these proteases have a central function in the viral life cycle, they are effective targets for antiviral drugs. Researchers have progressively refined inhibitors for HCV protease, so today, there are powerful "direct-acting antivirals" (DAA) that block growth of the virus and cure infected individuals. This cure is an enormous boon for global health, since it has been estimated that 3% of the world population is infected with HCV, and HCV is the leading cause of liver transplantation in the United States.

Visit PDB-101 to learn more about Hepatitis C Virus Protease/Helicase.

Visit the World Health Organization for more World Hepatitis Day resources.

HCV protease/helicase NS3/4A. The protease domain is shown in blue, the helicase domain is in green, and NS4A is in magenta.