Compounds and methods for inhibiting hepatitis C virus replication

Abstract

The inventors have discovered that an ATPase-deficient dominant-negative mutant NS3 protein of hepatitis C virus inhibits activity of the wild-type NS3 protein and inhibits replication of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The solved crystal structure of a multi-enzyme NS3 complex on a DNA substrate is also provided. The inventors have tested a peptide matching the sequence of a portion of NS3 that interacts with another NS3 molecule for inhibiting HCV replication. The peptide inhibits HCV replication. Accordingly, the invention provides a method of inhibiting HCV replication in cells infected with HCV involving transforming the cells with a vector expressing a dominant-negative mutant NS3 gene. The invention also provides a method of inhibiting HCV replication in cells infected with HCV involving administering to the cells a dominant-negative mutant NS3 protein. The invention also provides peptides and agents that inhibit HCV replication and methods of identifying agents that inhibit HCV replication.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.