Hepatitis C virus replicons: potential role for drug development.
The development of causal therapies depends on the availability of systems to determine the inhibitory capacity of a compound. As viruses are obligate intracellular parasites, the efficacy of an antiviral drug is usually evaluated in a cell-culture system. Unfortunately, the hepatitis C virus, the principal causative agent of acute and chronic liver disease, cannot be propagated efficiently in the laboratory. However, the recent development of a replicon system opens up an encouraging possibility for drug discovery.
Bartenschlager
Ralf
R
Department of Molecular Virology, Institute of Hygiene, University of Heidelberg, Otto-Meyerhof-Zentrum, Im Neuenheimer Feld 350, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. ralf_bartenschlager@med.uni-heidelberg.de
D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015195:Drug Design; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D012093:Replicon / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends
D000998:Antiviral Agents