title: Host sphingolipid biosynthesis is a promising therapeutic target for the inhibition of hepatitis B virus replication.
abstract: Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) catalyzes the first step in the sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway. Myriocin inhibits SPT and was shown to suppress the replication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in vitro and in vivo. However, its effect on hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication is unknown. In this study, the HBV DNA levels in HuH7 cell culture supernatants were lowered successfully by using myriocin and it was found that the 50% inhibitory concentration of myriocin is approximately 5 µM. Myriocin and/or pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) were also administered to chimeric mice for 2 weeks and the effects of these compounds on HBV DNA levels were determined. Myriocin alone did not reduce effectively the HBV DNA levels, whereas PEG-IFN alone reduced the DNA levels to 1/10th of the control levels. The combination of myriocin with PEG-IFN reduced the HBV levels to about 1/1,000 th of the control levels and induced a 1.0 log reduction in the levels of the HBV surface antigen and core protein. This latter effect was not observed in the other treatment groups. In conclusion, the combination of myriocin with PEG-IFN represses synergistically HBV replication in vivo without inducing hepatotoxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology & Liver Unit, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Kanako
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tatematsu
authors.forename: Yasuhito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sudoh
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizokami
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002460:Cell Line; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000502:physiology*; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051379:Mice; D013107:Sphingolipids / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D013107:Sphingolipids; D007372:Interferons; C001996:thermozymocidin