Premium
Antiviral action of interferon‐α against hepatitis C virus replicon and its modulation by interferon‐γ and interleukin‐8
Author(s) -
Jia Yintang,
Wei Lai,
Jiang Dong,
Wang Jianghua,
Cong Xu,
Fei Ran
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2007.04957.x
Subject(s) - interferon , medicine , replicon , virology , hepatitis c virus , virus , immunology , biology , dna , genetics , plasmid
Background and Aim: Interferon‐α (IFN‐α) based therapy is the main treatment used to control hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim of this study was to understand the mechanisms of IFN‐α inhibition of HCV replication and the resistance of HCV to IFN‐α therapy, and improve the efficiency of HCV treatment. Methods: The inhibitory effects of IFN‐α on a HCV replicon system were examined and the potential regulatory effects of interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) and interleukin‐8 (IL‐8) on the antiviral actions of IFN‐α were also investigated in this report. Results: The results showed that IFN‐α can effectively inhibit the replication of HCV replicon. Pretreatment of HCV replicon cells with IFN‐γ could significantly potentiate the inhibitory effects of IFN‐α on the HCV replicon. Direct addition of IL‐8 to the culture medium of HCV replicon cells could partially rescue the HCV replicon from the inhibition of IFN‐α, which may be the result of IL‐8 down‐regulation of interferon‐stimulated genes. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that IFN‐γ has synergistic antiviral effects with IFN‐α; whereas IL‐8 can attenuate the anti‐HCV actions of IFN‐α and is associated with HCV resistance to interferon‐α therapy.