Autotaxin-lysophosphatidic acid receptor signalling regulates hepatitis C virus replication.

Background & Aims: Chronic hepatitis C is a global health problem with an estimated 170 million hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected individuals at risk of progressive liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Autotaxin (ATX, gene name: ENPP2) is a phospholipase with diverse roles in the physiological and pathological processes including inflammation and oncogenesis. Clinical studies have reported increased ATX expression in chronic hepatitis C, however, the pathways regulating ATX and its role in the viral life cycle are not well understood.

The broad assessment of HCV genotypes 1 and 3 antigenic targets reveals limited cross-reactivity with implications for vaccine design.

Objective: Developing a vaccine that is cross-reactive between HCV genotypes requires data on T cell antigenic targets that extends beyond genotype-1. We characterised T cell immune responses against HCV genotype-3, the most common infecting genotype in the UK and Asia, and assessed within genotype and between genotype cross-reactivity.

Design: T cell targets were identified in 140 subjects with either acute, chronic or spontaneously resolved HCV genotype-3 infection using (1) overlapping peptides and (2) putative human leucocyte antigens (HLA)-class-I wild type and variant epitopes through the prior assessment of polymorphic HCV genomic sites associated with host HLA, in IFNγ-ELISpot assays.

HCV genotype-3a T cell immunity: specificity, function and impact of therapy.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype-3a infection is now the dominant strain in South Asia and the UK. Characteristic features include a favourable response to therapy; the reasons for this are unknown but may include distinct genotype-3a-specific T cell immunity. In contrast to genotype-1 infection, T cell immunity to this subtype is poorly defined.

Genetic history of hepatitis C virus in East Asia.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV), which currently infects an estimated 3% of people worldwide, has been present in some human populations for several centuries, notably HCV genotypes 1 and 2 in West Africa and genotype 6 in Southeast Asia. Here we use newly developed methods of sequence analysis to conduct the first comprehensive investigation of the epidemic and evolutionary history of HCV in Asia. Our analysis includes new HCV core (n = 16) and NS5B (n = 14) gene sequences, obtained from serum samples of jaundiced patients from Laos.