Nottingham: Antibodies with potential for hepatitis C vaccine

Research lead

Researchers at Nottingham University in the UK working in collaboration with groups elsewhere in Europe and the US, have identified hepatitis C antibodies that they believe could form the basis of a vaccine against the disease.

The antibodies successfully prevent infection in diverse strains of hepatitis C virus in laboratory models.

“The clinical potential of this work cannot be overstated. Historically, successful vaccines against viruses have required the production of antibodies, and this is likely to be the case for hepatitis C virus,” said Alexander Tarr, from the Virus Research Group at Nottingham. “Identifying regions of the virus that are able to induce broadly reactive neutralising antibodies is a significant milestone in the development of an HCV vaccine.”

Hepatitis C infects 180 million people worldwide. Infection with the virus can lead to liver cancer, and is the most common reason for liver transplantation.

“We are also currently exploring the possibility of improving liver transplantation success rates by passively infusing people with these antibodies,” said Tarr. “We are also using the information gained by identifying and characterising the antibody responses to hepatitis C virus to design new ways of making vaccine candidates. If the antibodies we have discovered can be reproduced by vaccination, control of the disease might be possible.”