An international research group led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has systematically identified an array of genetic switches that controls the metabolic response to Hepatitis C Virus infection in new research appearing in the just-released journal Nature Chemical Biology,
By carefully selecting drugs that target these genetic switches, the researchers were able to show how these genes control metabolic processes, such as glucose and lipid metabolism, and establish how these processes affect the virus lifecycle. Surprisingly, while some metabolic processes were beneficial for the virus, for example by providing it with building blocks for its genetic material allowing it to replicate faster, other metabolic processes were surprisingly anti-viral, disturbing the viral lifecycle.