An enzyme called DGAT1, very important in lipid metabolism, is necessary for the hepatitis C virus to start an infection, US scientists report in the journal Nature Medicine. According to the authors of the study, the enzyme is well suited for the purpose of antiviral therapy.
According to statistics, there are over 160 million people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the world. HCV infection in many cases leads to serious liver damage, including cirrhosis and cancer of this organ. Infection with this virus is directly related to lipid metabolism in liver cells.
Melanie Ott and a team at the Gladstone Institute in San Francisco discovered that the DGAT1 enzyme interacts with HCV virus particles and is necessary to pack it into fat droplets in cells. Inhibition of DGAT1 activity significantly disrupts the formation of new viral particles, which suggests that this enzyme can be used as a potential target for the treatment of HCV infection. (PAP)