Disentangling the lifespans of hepatitis C virus-infected cells and intracellular vRNA replication-complexes during direct-acting anti-viral therapy.

ABSTRACT: The decay rate of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected cells during therapy has been used to determine the duration of treatment needed to attain a sustained virologic response, but with direct-acting anti-virals (DAA), this rate has been difficult to estimate. Here, we show that it is possible to estimate it, by simultaneously analysing the viral load and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) kinetics during combination DAA therapy. We modelled the HCV RNA and ALT serum kinetics in 26 patients with chronic HCV genotype 1b infection, under four different sofosbuvir-based combination treatments. In all patients, ALT decayed exponentially to a set point in the normal range by 1-3 weeks after initiation of therapy. The model indicates that the ALT decay rate during the first few weeks after initiation o

SUBMITTER: Cardozo EF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7031045 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature