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ABSTRACT: Background
Mathematical models explain how antivirals control viral infections. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment results in at least 2 phases of decline in viremia. The first phase reflects clearance of rapidly produced virions. The second phase is hypothesized to derive from loss of infected cells but has been challenging to prove.Methods
Using single-cell methods, we quantified the number of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected hepatocytes in liver biopsies taken before and within 7 days of initiating direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in a double-blinded randomized controlled trial testing 2 (sofosbuvir-velpatasvir) versus 3 (sofosbuvir-velpatasvir-voxilaprevir) DAAs.Results
We employed thousands of intrahepatic measurements in 10 persons with chronic genotype 1a HCV infection: median proportion of infected hepatocytes declined from 11.3% (range, 1.3%-59%) to 0.6% (range, <0.3%-5.8%), a loss of 75%-95% infected hepatocytes. Plasma viremia correlated with numbers of HCV-infected hepatocytes (r = 0.77; P < .0001). Second-phase plasma dynamics and changes in infected hepatocytes were indistinct (P = .16), demonstrating that second-phase viral dynamics derive from loss of infected cells. DAAs led to a decline in intracellular HCV RNA and interferon-stimulated gene expression (P < .05 for both).Conclusions
We proved that second-phase viral dynamics reflect decay of intrahepatic burden of HCV, partly due to clearance of HCV RNA from hepatocytes.Clinical trials registration
NCT02938013.
SUBMITTER: Sachithanandham J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10420397 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Sachithanandham Jaiprasath J Balagopal Ashwin A Leep-Lazar Julia J Quinn Jeffrey J Bowden Kenneth K Ward Kathleen K Ribeiro Ruy M RM Sulkowski Mark S MS
The Journal of infectious diseases 20230801 3
<h4>Background</h4>Mathematical models explain how antivirals control viral infections. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment results in at least 2 phases of decline in viremia. The first phase reflects clearance of rapidly produced virions. The second phase is hypothesized to derive from loss of infected cells but has been challenging to prove.<h4>Methods</h4>Using single-cell methods, we quantified the number of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected hepatocytes in liver biopsies taken before and within ...[more]