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HDV evolution-will viral resistance be an issue in HDV infection?
David Tabernero1, Maria Francesca Cortese2, Maria Buti3
1Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Liver Pathology Unit, Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
Current Opinion in Virology
|November 12, 2018
Summary
Hepatitis D virus (HDV), a severe form of chronic hepatitis, affects HBV carriers. New antiviral treatments are needed as current therapies show low response rates and viral resistance is possible.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a satellite of Hepatitis B virus (HBV), causing severe chronic viral hepatitis in 5% of HBV carriers globally.
- Current treatment with Interferon alpha yields low response rates (20%-30%), necessitating novel therapeutic strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the potential for viral resistance in Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection.
- To highlight the need for new antiviral strategies due to the limitations of current treatments.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of HDV population complexity using Next-Generation Sequencing.
- Review of existing literature on HDV and its treatment.
Main Results:
- HDV exhibits high viral evolution rates (10^-3 to 10^-4 substitutions/site/year), forming complex quasispecies populations.
- Specific viral resistance in HDV infection has not been reported but cannot be ruled out.
Conclusions:
- The complexity of HDV quasispecies poses challenges for treatment and resistance monitoring.
- Further research into new antiviral strategies is crucial for managing chronic Hepatitis D infection.
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