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ABSTRACT: Background & aims
Oestrogen and oestrogen-mediated signalling protect from hepatitis C virus through incompletely understood mechanisms. We aimed to ascertain which phase(s) of hepatitis C virus life cycle is/are affected by oestrogens.Methods
Huh7 cells infected with the JFH1 virus (genotype 2a) were exposed to dehydroepiandrosterone, testosterone, progesterone and 17?-estradiol (tested with/without its receptor antagonist fulvestrant). Dose-response curves were established to calculate half maximal inhibitory concentration values. To dissect how 17?-estradiol interferes with phases of hepatitis C virus life cycle, its effects were measured on the hepatitis C virus pseudo-particle system (viral entry), the subgenomic replicon N17/JFH1 and the replicon cell line Huh7-J17 (viral replication). Finally, in a dual-step infection model, infectious supernatants, collected from infected cells exposed to hormones, were used to infect naïve cells.Results
Progesterone and testosterone showed no inhibitory effect on hepatitis C virus; dehydroepiandrosterone was only mildly inhibitory. In contrast, 17?-estradiol inhibited infection by 64%-67% (IC50 values 140-160 nmol/L). Fulvestrant reverted the inhibition by 17?-estradiol in a dose-dependent manner. 17?-estradiol exerted only a slight inhibition (<20%) on hepatitis C virus pseudo-particles, and had no effect on cells either transiently or stably (Huh7-J17 cells) expressing the N17/JFH1 replicon. In the dual-step infection model, a significant half maximal inhibitory concentration decline occurred between primary (134 nmol/L) and secondary (100 nmol/L) infections (P=.02), with extracellular hepatitis C virus RNA and infectivity being reduced to a higher degree in comparison to its intracellular counterpart.Conclusions
17?-estradiol inhibits hepatitis C virus acting through its intracellular receptors, mainly interfering with late phases (assembly/release) of the hepatitis C virus life cycle.
SUBMITTER: Magri A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5448036 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Magri Andrea A Barbaglia Matteo N MN Foglia Chiara Z CZ Boccato Elisa E Burlone Michela E ME Cole Sarah S Giarda Paola P Grossini Elena E Patel Arvind H AH Minisini Rosalba R Pirisi Mario M
Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver 20161125 5
<h4>Background & aims</h4>Oestrogen and oestrogen-mediated signalling protect from hepatitis C virus through incompletely understood mechanisms. We aimed to ascertain which phase(s) of hepatitis C virus life cycle is/are affected by oestrogens.<h4>Methods</h4>Huh7 cells infected with the JFH1 virus (genotype 2a) were exposed to dehydroepiandrosterone, testosterone, progesterone and 17β-estradiol (tested with/without its receptor antagonist fulvestrant). Dose-response curves were established to c ...[more]