Adverse side effects of anti-HCV treatments recreated in test tubes

The adverse side effects of some medications for hepatitis C can now be observed and studied in laboratory conditions, using petri dishes and test tubes, thanks to the development of a new method by US researchers.

A team led by Craig Cameron, the Paul Berg Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State University, developed the method to reveal the adverse effects of treating the disease, which affects more than 170 million people around the world.

The research, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, showed how antiviral drugs can cause damage to healthy tissues in patients as well as the virus strain.

This is because the chemicals used in these medications as analogs for the building blocks used in the replication of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) to disrupt the process can also mimic the patient's own genetic material.

In order to show this in laboratory conditions as opposed to waiting for clinical trials, the team took anti-HCV and showed how the drugs affect functions within the mitochondria of cells in petri dishes and test tubes.

Professor Cameron said: "The new method will not only help us to understand the recent failures of hepatitis C antiviral drugs in some patients in clinical trials. It also could help to identify medications that eliminate all adverse effects."

He explained that the mitochondria of cells - the structure responsible for making energy - is affected by the compounds and this disruption is one of the causes of adverse effects in patients taking anti-HCV medications.

First author Jamie Arnold, a research associate at Penn State, explained that drugs shown to be effective during clinical trials can be stopped or put on hold if even a small percentage of patients have side effects. Because of this, drug manufacturers are often reluctant to invest money in trials after adverse effects have been observed, even if there are potential benefits for patients.

Using the new method as part of a pre-clinical development process would allow lab workers to show that a drug will cause side effects before lengthy, expensive clinical trials are launched - allowing drug companies to invest their money more wisely, he added.

It is hoped the research will lead to the development of safer treatments for hepatitis C, as well as other pathogens such as West Nile virus.