title: Emerging therapeutic targets for hepatitis C virus infection.
abstract: Therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a rapidly evolving field wherein traditional treatment with the nonspecific antiviral agents pegylated interferon (IFN)-alfa and ribavirin has been and will continue to be supplanted by combinations of targeted therapies against HCV with and without concomitant pegylated IFN and/or ribavirin, resulting in markedly superior rates of viral clearance. Exhaustive study of HCV structure and replication through the development of in vitro systems has enabled the development of numerous novel direct acting antiviral agents that currently are undergoing clinical trials. As our understanding of the HCV virus and its antiviral targets increases, the future of HCV therapy holds the promise of high rates of viral eradication in all patient populations, many or all of whom will be treatable with IFN-free combinations of all-oral agents.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Center for the Study of Hepatitis C, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Arun B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Jesudian
authors.forename: Ype P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.forename: Ira M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Jacobson
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000639:trends; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000379:methods; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011392:Proline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D009842:Oligopeptides; D012254:Ribavirin; C486464:telaprevir; C512204:N-(3-amino-1-(cyclobutylmethyl)-2,3-dioxopropyl)-3-(2-((((1,1-dimethylethyl)amino)carbonyl)amino)-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutyl)-6,6-dimethyl-3-azabicyclo(3.1.0)hexan-2-carboxamide; D011392:Proline