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Studies on hepatitis C virus resistance to inhibitors in replicon systems

Yongsen Zhao1, Mingjun Huang

  • 1Achillion Pharmaceuticals, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Current Protocols in Pharmacology
|February 2, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) resistance to antiviral drugs is studied using HCV RNA replicons in cell culture. This method helps identify drug targets and monitor resistant HCV variants in patients.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Drug Discovery
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Viruses develop resistance to antiviral drugs under selection pressure.
  • Studying hepatitis C virus (HCV) resistance is challenging due to the lack of robust cell culture infection systems.
  • HCV RNA replicons in cell lines offer an alternative model for resistance studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe methods for studying HCV resistance to inhibitors.
  • To enable selection and characterization of resistant HCV variants.
  • To identify mutations conferring resistance and confirm drug targets.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing cell lines harboring self-replicating HCV RNA (replicons).
  • Selecting replicon variants resistant to specific HCV inhibitors.
  • Characterizing resistant variants' phenotypes and genotypes.
  • Determining the functional role of identified mutations.

Main Results:

  • Established protocols for studying HCV resistance using replicons.
  • Identified and characterized resistant HCV variants.
  • Confirmed mutations responsible for drug resistance phenotypes.

Conclusions:

  • HCV replicon systems are effective for studying antiviral resistance.
  • These studies are crucial for lead identification and drug target validation.
  • Findings aid in monitoring the emergence of resistant HCV strains clinically.

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