Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global health problem, causing chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Nearly 50% of infected patients do not respond to interferon therapy and it is crucial to develop additional therapeutic modalities. Hepatic injury is likely initiated by oxidants such as superoxide and peroxide that arise during viral infection and damage hepatocytes and surrounding cells. Hepatocytes normally up- regulate oxidative defense enzymes to maintain redox balance and prevent liver injury. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an oxidative defense enzyme that is induced in response to oxidative stress. The enzyme's reaction products, biliverdin, carbon monoxide, and iron serve important functions in the cell to maintain cellular hemostasis and prevent injury. Past work from our laboratory has shown that HCV can transcriptionally regulate expression of HO-1. More recently, we reported that HO-1 overexpression or induction with hemin can attenuate viral replication and at the same time protect against oxidative injury in HCV replicon cells. Consequently, our findings strongly suggest that induction of HO-1 with drugs such as hemin may be a new exciting avenue for adjunctive antiviral therapy to treat HCV infection and/or prevent chronic liver disease. The major objective of this application is to characterize the cellular mechanisms whereby HO-1 induction and its enzymatic products inhibit HCV replication and reduce oxidative stress. The central hypothesis of this application is that HO-1 is an important hepatocellular defense enzyme whose reaction products attenuate HCV replication as well as protect against oxidative injury caused by the virus. Using established cell lines of HCV nonstructural and full length replicons as well as JFH6 line that supports the cellular life cycle of HCV in vitro, we will test the central hypothesis and accomplish the major objectives by undertaking experiments of three specific objectives: 1) We will investigate the role of HO reaction products iron and biliverdin/bilirubin as mediators of HO-1 antiviral activity in HCV infected hepatocytes. 2) We will investigate the role of heme oxygenase reaction products, biliverdin/bilirubin, carbon monoxide, and iron in reducing and/or modulating oxidative stress due to the virus, and 3) We will investigate the role of HCV as a regulator of HO-1 expression, under basal conditions and in response to stress. Since HO-1 is induced in response to oxidative stress it is important to clarify how the virus must modulate HO-1 expression. This work will expand our knowledge of viral replication and hepatic injury that occur during chronic HCV infection. It will also lay a foundation for development of a novel class of antiviral agents that potentially could be adjunctive therapy for chronic HCV infection. Potential Impact on Veterans healthcare: Veterans have higher incidence rates of chronic HCV infection and suffer increased morbidity and mortality than the population at large. The results of these studies are highly likely to positively impact veterans'care with new treatment modalities and management options.

Public Health Relevance

Hepatitis C virus is a global health problem. This work will study how the virus causes human liver disease and how the human liver responds to the virus. The importance of this work is that it will be directly applicable to treatment of humans with hepatitis C virus infection.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Veterans Affairs (VA)
Type
Non-HHS Research Projects (I01)
Project #
1I01BX000159-01
Application #
7686494
Study Section
Infectious Diseases A (INFA)
Project Start
2009-04-01
Project End
2013-03-31
Budget Start
2009-04-01
Budget End
2010-03-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Iowa City VA Medical Center
Department
Type
DUNS #
028084333
City
Iowa City
State
IA
Country
United States
Zip Code
52245
Schmidt, Warren N; Nelson, David R; Pawlotsky, Jean-Michel et al. (2014) Direct-acting antiviral agents and the path to interferon independence. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 12:728-37
Kayali, Zeid; Schmidt, Warren N (2014) Finally sofosbuvir: an oral anti-HCV drug with wide performance capability. Pharmgenomics Pers Med 7:387-98
Zhu, Zhaowen; Mathahs, M Meleah; Schmidt, Warren N (2013) Restoration of type I interferon expression by heme and related tetrapyrroles through inhibition of NS3/4A protease. J Infect Dis 208:1653-63
Schmidt, Warren N; Mathahs, M Meleah; Zhu, Zhaowen (2012) Heme and HO-1 Inhibition of HCV, HBV, and HIV. Front Pharmacol 3:129
Bandyopadhyay, Sarmistha; Friedman, Robin C; Marquez, Rebecca T et al. (2011) Hepatitis C virus infection and hepatic stellate cell activation downregulate miR-29: miR-29 overexpression reduces hepatitis C viral abundance in culture. J Infect Dis 203:1753-62
Poynard, Thierry; Munteanu, Mona; Colombo, Massimo et al. (2011) FibroTest is an independent predictor of virologic response in chronic hepatitis C patients retreated with pegylated interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin in the EPICĀ³ program. J Hepatol 54:227-35
Marquez, Rebecca T; Bandyopadhyay, Sarmistha; Wendlandt, Erik B et al. (2010) Correlation between microRNA expression levels and clinical parameters associated with chronic hepatitis C viral infection in humans. Lab Invest 90:1727-36
Zhu, Zhaowen; Wilson, Anne T; Luxon, Bruce A et al. (2010) Biliverdin inhibits hepatitis C virus nonstructural 3/4A protease activity: mechanism for the antiviral effects of heme oxygenase? Hepatology 52:1897-905
Ali, Sobia; Stolpen, Alan H; Schmidt, Warren N (2010) Portosystemic encephalopathy due to mesoiliac shunt in a patient without cirrhosis. J Clin Gastroenterol 44:381-3
Zhu, Zhaowen; Wilson, Anne T; Gopalakrishna, Kota et al. (2010) Hepatitis C virus core protein enhances Telomerase activity in Huh7 cells. J Med Virol 82:239-48

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