Taking cues from convalescence to improve vaccines against hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a worldwide public health issue despite direct-acting antivirals. A substantial proportion of infected individuals (15%-45%) spontaneously clear repeated HCV infections with genetically different viruses by generating broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs)....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of clinical investigation 2022-08, Vol.132 (15), p.1-3
Main Authors: Sreekumar, Bharath K, Taha, Taha Y, Ott, Melanie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibodies
Antiviral agents
Biomedical research
Chronic illnesses
Convalescence
Genetic diversity
Genotype & phenotype
Health aspects
Hepatitis C
Infections
Medical research
Monoclonal antibodies
Patients
Physiological aspects
Prevention
Proteins
Public health
RNA polymerase
Vaccines
Viral antibodies
Viral envelope proteins
Viral vaccines
Viruses
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a worldwide public health issue despite direct-acting antivirals. A substantial proportion of infected individuals (15%-45%) spontaneously clear repeated HCV infections with genetically different viruses by generating broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs). However, translating this response into an effective vaccine strategy has been unsuccessful. In this issue of the JCI, Frumento and colleagues report on their study of bNAb evolution longitudinally in convalescent individuals with repeated infections. Using pseudotyped viruses, well-characterized monoclonal antibodies, and complex modeling, the authors show that multiple exposures to antigenically related, antibody-sensitive viral envelope proteins induced potent bNAbs. This work provides valuable insight into the best strategies for developing HCV vaccines in the future that may successfully reproduce the immunity induced during natural exposures.
ISSN:1558-8238
0021-9738
1558-8238
DOI:10.1172/JCI161819