New treatment for hepatitis B and D under development in Sweden
A new immunological treatment against hepatitis B and D viruses, both of which can cause liver cancer, shows promising results in animal models.
Results from the treatment, which is being developed by researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, have been published in the journal Stomach.
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV) infections are important causes of severe liver damage and liver cancer.
There is a vaccine for hepatitis B, but more than 250 million people currently have chronic infections. The available treatment rarely clears the infection completely, so the risk of liver damage remains. Current treatment for chronic hepatitis D infection cures only about a quarter of patients.
Now researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden are developing a new type of treatment that they hope will provide a lasting treatment response against both viruses.
Treatment details
The treatment consists of two components designed to affect the immune system in different ways. First, a DNA-based vaccine is administered that activates the production of neutralizing antibodies and T cells against both viruses. Then repeated doses of a protein-based vaccine are given to boost the activation of the immune system.
The study shows that the treatment can protect cultured cells against HBV and HDV infection. When the treatment was given to mice carrying parts of the hepatitis B and D viruses, which resemble a chronic HBV infection, the animals produced the desired antibodies and T cells in high levels.
In addition, antibodies from treated mice were able to protect mice bearing human hepatocytes against co-infection with HBV and HDV. Furthermore, these antibodies were able to protect mice with chronic HBV infection against HDV infection. This is particularly important because patients with chronic HBV infection are at risk of severe disease if infected with HDV.
Promising results
– These are promising results, says Matti Sällberg, professor at the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and one of the study’s two main authors.
“The study shows that this is a viable path and encourages us to continue developing this treatment for use in humans. We are now optimizing the protein-based part to enable large-scale production according to pharmaceutical standards and then doing the final safety studies before we can apply for our first study with people.”
The treatment has been developed at the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The tests in cell culture were done in collaboration with Heidelberg University in Germany and the experiments on mice bearing human liver cells were done in collaboration with Ghent University in Belgium.
The research was funded by the Cancer Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, Vinnova, CIMED, Horizon 2020 and ALF funds from Region Stockholm.
Sällberg and co-author Lars Frelin are founders and shareholders of Svenska Vaccinfabriken Produktion AB, which owns patent applications for the treatment.