title: Targets of emerging therapies for viral hepatitis B and C.
abstract: Viral hepatitis B and C, structurally two completely different viruses, commonly infect human hepatocytes and cause similar clinical manifestations. Since their discovery, IFN has been a pillar in the treatment. However, because of the different natures of the viruses, therapeutic approaches diverge and new treatment targets are tailored specifically for each virus. Herein, the authors analyse therapeutic approaches for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and focus on emerging concepts that are under clinical evaluation. In particular, promising viral inhibitors for HBV and HCV are reviewed and the current status of research for gene therapy for HCV is described. Immune therapy is a fast-moving field with fascinating results which include therapeutic vaccines and toll-like receptor agonists that could improve tomorrow's treatment approaches.
authors.affiliation: University of Bern, Clinic for Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology/Allergology, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yerly
authors.forename: Loriana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Giammarino
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bihl
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cerny
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents