Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Against the HCV Envelope Proteins
Section snippets
Life Cycle
The HCV viral polyprotein is processed by a combination of virally encoded and cellular proteases. This process produces 10 structural and nonstructural proteins. The structural proteins, which are mostly enveloped glycoproteins, constitute the bulk of the viral structure, whereas the nonstructural proteins perform catalytic functions. E1 and E2 are believed to be the most important structural proteins.12 To a large extent, they constitute the virion structure and are believed to facilitate
Clinical development
Antibodies are complex glycoprotein molecules that are produced by B lymphocytes in response to the presence of bacterial and viral pathogens and other foreign particles. These Y-shaped molecules have 2 short arms and a longer stem known as the crystallizable fragment (Fc).17 When antibodies bind to pathogenic or foreign antigens they stimulate their elimination by 1 of 2 processes. The antibodies recruit effector cells such as macrophages and natural killer cells in a process known as
Preclinical development
Several monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against HCV are in preclinical stages of investigation. If they are effective in animals, clinical studies will be initiated to assess their safety and pharmacokinetics in humans. The variety of drugs in this stage of development is diverse; this review is limited to antibodies that attack HCV at the receptor level (point of entry) and seem promising as effective therapies or vaccines for HCV.
Membrane receptors on the surface of host cells play an
Summary
As noted throughout this issue, HCV infection constitutes one of the major health burdens facing the world. CHC currently accounts for most of the 5000 annual liver transplants in the United States and records between 10,000 and 12,000 deaths. Unfortunately, the currently approved drug regimens have relatively low efficacy (especially for HCV genotype 1) and a significant side effect profile. Furthermore, reinfection posttransplantation is universal. The need to develop effective preventive and
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