Study Paves the Way for an Active Agent Against Hepatitis E

A newly identified compound prevents a cellular enzyme from cleaving the virus particle. As a result, the virus can no longer infect cells.

At present, there is no specific active substance against hepatitis E. As the disease kills 70,000 people every year, researchers are actively searching for one. The team from the Department of Molecular and Medical Virology at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, may have found what they’re looking for. The researchers showed that the compound K11777 prevents host cells from helping the virus out of its shell by cleaving the viral capsid. This means it can no longer infect cells. "The compound is already being tested in clinical trials against other viruses such as Sars-Cov-2," says lead author Mara Klöhn. ...