Current Drug Discovery for Anti-hepatitis C Virus Targeting NS4B

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major worldwide epidemic disease. It is estimated that more than 170 million individuals are infected with HCV and with three to four million new cases each year. Many new direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents that specifically target HCV NS3 protease or NS5B polymerase inhibitors are therefore in development, with a significant effect for the patient and for the market recently. The non-structural 4B (NS4B) protein, is among the least characterized of the HCV proteins. A variety of functions have been recognized for NS4B, such as the ability to induce the membranous web replication platform, RNA binding and NTPase activity. In order to maximize antiviral efficacy and prevent the emergence of resistance, novel NS4B inhibitors have been subjected to pharmacological studies. In this review, we discussed current understanding of the structure and function of NS4B, and novel drug discoveries targeting NS4B as anti-hepatitis C virus such as sulfonamide, piperidine, carboxamide, piperazinone and quinoline derivatives within the last three years.