title: Oncostatin M synergistically inhibits HCV RNA replication in combination with interferon-alpha.
abstract: Oncostatin M (OSM), a member of the interleukin-6 family, possesses various functions, including hepatocyte differentiation and suppression of melanoma cell growth. Here, we report anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) activity of OSM as a new function of this cytokine. OSM possessed marked anti-HCV activity (50% effective concentration: 0.71 ng/ml) in an HCV RNA replication cell culture system. The most striking finding is that OSM exhibited synergistic inhibitory activity on interferon (IFN)-alpha even at a low concentration with weak anti-HCV activity, such as 25 pg/ml. OSM is a candidate anti-HCV reagent and may improve the current IFN therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tumor Virology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Okayama 700-8558, Japan. maikeda@md.okayama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ariumi
authors.forename: Hiromichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dansako
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kato