Grant: Operating Grant

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global health problem that affects 3% of the world population, including over 300 000 Canadians. HCV-infected individuals typically develop a persistent infection that leads to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis (fatty liver) and liver cancer. Currently, there is no vaccine available and the current treatment is ineffective in many patients. Thus, there is a pressing need for novel anti-HCV treatments. To establish an infection, HCV commandeers many different factors in our cells. In healthy cells, small molecules, called microRNAs, restrict how much our genes are expressed. HCV co-opts a liver-specific microRNA and uses it to amplify itself. We have evidence that suggests that the microRNA protects the virus, allowing it to hide from the immune system. The focus of my research is to investigate how HCV uses this microRNA to its own benefit and to identify other human factors that the virus uses to amplify itself in the liver. With this information, we can determine which factors are important for HCV to accumulate in the liver and this will reveal novel antiviral targets. At present, most therapeutic approaches specifically target the virus. However, HCV is able to mutate to escape the effect of these drugs. Recently, a drug used to sequester this microRNA in HCV-infected patients was demonstrated to have long-lasting suppression of HCV, with no evidence of viral resistance or adverse side effects. Hence, targeting this liver-specific microRNA is a promising antiviral strategy.