Inhibition of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) replication by lymphoblastoid human alpha interferon

Lymphoblastoid interferon inhibited hepatitis delta virus (HDV) replication in four out of five HDV carriers with chronic active liver disease. Serum HDV-RNA was undetectable in three patients, but in one of these evidence of continuing intrahepatic HDV replication was present on biopsy one year after treatment. In the four cases which showed total or partial inhibition of HDV replication, there was a transient increase in transaminases during treatment, and in three this was followed by improvement. These effects lasted for longer than one year. The lysis of hepatocytes occurring on exposure to interferon may be related to the induction of 2-5A oligosynthetase which, in the presence of the dsRNA of HDV, activates endonucleases which destroy the rRNA of the infected cells.