Development of Hepatitis B Drug Becomes Closer

Scientists become closer to find drug treatment for Hepatitis B after discovery of o to call “assembly code” in the genetic material of the virus. The discovery of the researchers from the Universities of York and Leeds, USA, makes a creation of defensive cover, where new Hepatitis B parts could be produced, possible. The mechanism of how Hepatitis B virus works, discovered by the scientists may lead for a new type of drug treatment of the virus, which appears to be one of the main causes of liver cancer worldwide. Hepatitis B could be transmitted through blood and bodily fluids, as well as HIV, for example. If compared with HIv, there is no effective drug for treatment and preventive care, but now the foundation of such drug seems possible. Nowadays nearly 350-400 million people worldwide are infection carriers.

“It is a bit like the chain on a bicycle. If we don't assemble the chain on the sprockets, it becomes tangled and won't function. Once assembled correctly, it connects the pedals with the wheels allowing the component parts to work together. We see the same process happening between the Hepatitis B RNA signals and the viral proteins. The proteins are attracted by these signals, which then promote their assembly into a precise molecular machine that allows the virus to produce a DNA copy of its genetic material and hence become infectious." - commented the study Professor Reidun Twarock, mathematical biologist at the University of York's Department of Mathematics and Biology.

It i just a start and it is absolutely obvious that further researches and studies are needed. american National Institutes of Health joined their colleagues from the Universities of York and Leeds to study all the possible Hepatitis B drug candidates.