Study Uncovers Reason Behind Hepatitis C Vaccine Difficulties

Recent research has uncovered a reason behind difficulties in the creation of a vaccine against the hepatitis C virus (HCV).1

The trouble lies within a viral protein used to induce the body’s antibody response to the virus when testing some HCV vaccines. This section of protein, meant to be the target of the vaccine, is flexible, and therefore likely “elicits a wide variety of antibodies, most of which cannot block viral infection.”2
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“We may want to engineer a version [of the protein] that is less flexible to get a better neutralizing response to the key target site and not so many off-target responses,” said co-senior author Ian A. Wilson, TSRI’s Hansen Professor of Structural Biology.2

The researchers plan to continue their study, examining the possibilities of designing a new version of the protein or a new scaffold protein.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

  1. Kong L, Lee DE, Kadam RU, et al. Structural flexibility at a major conserved antibody target on hepatitis C virus E2 antigen [published online October 24, 2016]. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.
  2. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1609780113.
  3. Scripps Research Institute. Scientists uncover why hepatitis C virus vaccine has been difficult to make [press release]. October 24, 2016. http://www.scripps.edu/news/press/2016/20161024wilson_law.html. Accessed October 25, 2016.