Epigenetic editing silences hepatitis B virus in liver cells and mice
Chemical tags placed on the hepatitis B virus genome shut down its gene activity and stopped viral particle production, according to a paper in Nature Biomedical Engineering on 21 September. Teams at nChroma Bio in Boston and institutes in Milan tested the epigenetic editor in human liver cells and mice. Monkeys showed only minimal, temporary side effects. Current drugs often fail to eradicate the virus, which affects more than 250 million people. John Tavis, a molecular virologist at Saint Louis University, said the approach "is really where we need to go to end up being able to address this pandemic of HBV around the world".
People with chronic hepatitis B are the intended beneficiaries, but results so far come only from human liver cells, mice and monkeys.
Written by the Genomes desk from the primary source cited and linked above and checked against it. Research use only; not medical advice. Corrections: [email protected].