So far, no treatment has successfully managed to reduce the prevalence of hepatitis C in the world, and this has prompted scientists to start looking for a vaccine. However, limited knowledge of the protein complex that enables the virus to infect the cells has made this difficult.

A new study by a cross-disciplinary research team at the University of Copenhagen is about to change that.

“We are the first ever to identify the protein complex at the surface of the hepatitis C virus that enables it to bind to our cells,” says Associate Professor Jannick Prentø.

“This knowledge of the structure of the protein complex will enable us to design vaccine candidates that can prevent the virus from infecting the cells,” says Postdoc Elias Augestad.

The protein complex helps the virus bind to the cells. In the corona virus, it is a so-called spike protein with the well-known spikes. In the hepatitis C virus, the structure is different, but the function of the protein complex is the same.

Paves the way for vaccine development

The study can be considered a blueprint for HCV vaccine development. Scientists hope to be able to use the new knowledge to develop a vaccine which will make the immune system produce antibodies that bind effectively to the surface of the hepatitis C virus and thus render it harmless.

“Expressing and cleaning up the protein complex is extremely difficult, which is why it has not been done before. The structure of these proteins on the surface of the hepatitis C virus makes them extremely vulnerable. Researchers did not know what they were dealing with, and therefore, whenever someone tried to reproduce these protein structures in the lab they would fall apart before they could get a chance to study them,” says Associate Professor Jannick Prentø.

“But we managed to describe their structure, and this has enabled us to reproduce these protein complexes outside the cell and study them closely,” says Associate Professor Pontus Gourdon.