Chronic inflammation caused by the hepatitis C virus affects approximately 58 million people worldwide, with 300,000 deaths annually. Despite ongoing efforts, no treatment has significantly reduced the global prevalence of hepatitis C, leading researchers to focus on developing a vaccine. However, the challenge has been a limited understanding of the protein complex that allows the virus to infect cells.
A groundbreaking study from a cross-disciplinary team at the University of Copenhagen is poised to address this issue.
Associate Professor Jannick Prentø explains, “We are the first to identify the protein complex on the hepatitis C virus that facilitates its binding to human cells.”
Postdoc Elias Augestad adds, “Understanding the structure of this protein complex will help us design vaccine candidates capable of preventing the virus from infecting cells.”
The protein complex aids in the virus’s attachment to cells. While the coronavirus features a spike protein with distinctive spikes, the hepatitis C virus has a different structure but serves a similar function.
As reported by medicalxpress.com, this study lays the groundwork for developing a hepatitis C vaccine. The goal is to use this new knowledge to create a vaccine that prompts the immune system to produce antibodies capable of binding to the virus and neutralizing it.
Associate Professor Jannick Prentø notes the difficulty in expressing and purifying the protein complex, a challenge that has hindered previous attempts. “The protein structures on the hepatitis C virus are highly delicate, and past efforts to replicate them in the lab often resulted in their disintegration before they could be studied.”
Associate Professor Pontus Gourdon adds, “Our success in describing these protein structures has allowed us to reproduce and examine them outside of cells.”
The research, published in the journal *Nature*, is the result of collaboration between two departments at the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Jannick Prentø from the Department of Immunology and Microbiology and Hvidovre Hospital, along with Postdoc Elias Augestad, initially worked on this challenging project. They later sought additional expertise in the identification of transmembrane proteins, which was crucial for understanding how to prevent the hepatitis C virus from spreading.