EVALUATION OF ANTIVIRALS FOR HEPATITIS C VIRUS IN CHIMPANZEES

这个子项目是众多研究子项目之一

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Approximately 2% of the US population is chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Chronic HCV infections result in significant liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer in approximately 20% of infected individuals. The current therapy of interferon and ribavirin does not result in viral clearance in the majority of cases. The development of improved antiviral strategies to treat HCV chronic infection is essential for the control of this disease. The objective of this study is to test a series of nucleoside analogues as antiviral inhibitors of HCV replication in chronically infected chimpanzees. The level of viral RNA in the serum is being measured by TaqMan RT-PCR, and the animals are being monitored for safety of the compounds.