Hydroxyurea as an inhibitor of hepatitis C virus RNA replication.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the main causative agent of chronic liver disease, which may develop into liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. By using a recently developed reporter assay system in which genome-length HCV RNA replicates efficiently, we found that hydroxyurea (HU), a DNA synthesis inhibitor, inhibited HCV RNA replication. Moreover, we demonstrated that the anti-HCV activity of the combination of IFN-alpha and HU was higher than that of IFN-alpha alone. These results suggest that HU may be an effective anti-HCV reagent that can be used not only singly but also in combination with IFN-alpha to treat chronic hepatitis C.
Nozaki
Akito
A
Gastroenterological Center, Yokohama City University Medical Center, 4-57, Urafune-cho, Minami-ku, Yokohama 232-0024, Japan. akino@yokohama-cu.ac.jp
Morimoto
Manabu
M
Kondo
Masaaki
M
Oshima
Takashi
T
Numata
Kazushi
K
Fujisawa
Shin
S
Kaneko
Takeshi
T
Miyajima
Eiji
E
Morita
Satoshi
S
Mori
Kyoko
K
Ikeda
Masanori
M
Kato
Nobuyuki
N
Tanaka
Katsuaki
K
D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects*; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D006918:Hydroxyurea / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology; D008156:Luciferases / Q000378:metabolism; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D008156:Luciferases; D006918:Hydroxyurea