BACKGROUND Lethal mutagenesis, or virus extinction promoted by mutagen-induced elevation of mutation rates of viruses, may meet with the problem of selection of mutagen-resistant variants, as extensively documented for standard, non-mutagenic antiviral inhibitors. Previously, we characterized a mutant of foot-and-mouth disease virus that included in its RNA-dependent RNA polymerase replacement ...

GB virus B (GBV-B) is the closest relative of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and is an attractive surrogate model for HCV antiviral studies. GBV-B induces an acute, resolving hepatitis in tamarins. Utilizing primary cultures of tamarin hepatocytes, we have previously developed a tissue culture system that exhibits high levels of GBV-B replication. In this report, we have extended the utility of this s...

Background: Nowadays, the immune response to hepatitis C (HCV) treatment has become a crucial issue mostly due to the interleukin 28B (IL-28B) polymorphism effects in chronic HCV patients. The aim of this study was to detect the polymorphism of IL-28B gene (rs12979860) in HCV genotype 1 patients treated with pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin. Methods...

BACKGROUND Despite the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin remains relevant in many resource-constrained settings. The non-randomized GUARD-C cohort investigated baseline predictors of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations (sr-RD) and their impact on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients...

BACKGROUND Not enough data are available about the effectiveness of consensus interferon (CIFN) among HCV genotype 3 patients who failed to respond to pegylated interferon and ribavirin. OBJECTIVES We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of CIFN and ribavirin in non-responders and relapsers to pegylated interferon with ribavirin therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS This open-label investigator-...

For the 30-50% of patients with chronic hepatitis C who do not respond to alpha-interferon therapy there is no alternative treatment. Some previously untreated patients have shown a biochemical response to ribavirin, but the antiviral effects of this substance on alpha-interferon-resistant cases is largely unknown. Twelve patients with chronic hepatitis C who had not responded to a 6-12 month c...

The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), which is the main composition factor of eIF4F translation initiation complex, influences the growth of tumor through modulating cap-dependent protein translation. Previous studies reported that ribavirin could suppress eIF4E-controlled translation and reduce the synthesis of onco-proteins. Here, we investigated the anti-leukemic effects o...

Ribavirin is a nucleoside analogue with anti-viral activity against a number of DNA and RNA viruses. That molecule is administered per os and its most frequent adverse effect is haemolysis, moderate in most cases. Used alone, ribavirin normalized liver enzyme concentrations in 45% of patients while viraemia is not significantly modified. Histological improvement is observed in responder patient...

BACKGROUND The standard treatment for HCV infection involves combination therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. The study was conducted to determine the effect of standard interferon and ribavirin on the haemoglobin level in patients treated for hepatitis-C. METHODS PCR confirmed 58 patients of chronic hepatitis-C treated with standard interferon and ribavirin for six months were in...

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) has contributed to unveil some of the molecular mechanisms of lethal mutagenesis, or loss of virus infectivity due to increased mutation rates. Here we review these developments, and provide additional evidence that ribavirin displays a dual mutagenic and inhibitory activity on LCMV that can be relevant to treatment designs. Using 5-fluorouracil as muta...