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| How Hep C bypasses cell defences | How Hep C bypasses cell defences |
| (about 19 hours later) | |
| The potentially-fatal hepatitis C virus evades the body's natural defences by slipping directly from cell to cell, scientists have found. | The potentially-fatal hepatitis C virus evades the body's natural defences by slipping directly from cell to cell, scientists have found. |
| This could mean treatments aimed at interrupting its progress won't work as well as hoped. | This could mean treatments aimed at interrupting its progress won't work as well as hoped. |
| University of Birmingham researchers told a Glasgow conference that this could explain the rapid spread of the virus in some patients. | University of Birmingham researchers told a Glasgow conference that this could explain the rapid spread of the virus in some patients. |
| The British Liver Trust said that a treatment was "desperately needed". | The British Liver Trust said that a treatment was "desperately needed". |
| We will have to up our game and find other ways of tackling this relentless virus Dr Jennifer TimpeBirmingham University | We will have to up our game and find other ways of tackling this relentless virus Dr Jennifer TimpeBirmingham University |
| Viruses spread by entering cells, then replicating themselves, with large numbers of copies of the virus bursting out of the cell to start the process again. | Viruses spread by entering cells, then replicating themselves, with large numbers of copies of the virus bursting out of the cell to start the process again. |
| However, some viruses don't have to leave the host cell before infecting another - they can move directly between cells. | However, some viruses don't have to leave the host cell before infecting another - they can move directly between cells. |
| It had been thought that Hepatitis C didn't have this ability, but the Birmingham research, using liver tumour cells infected with the virus, now suggests that it does. | It had been thought that Hepatitis C didn't have this ability, but the Birmingham research, using liver tumour cells infected with the virus, now suggests that it does. |
| "Cell to cell transmission" allows the virus to bypass some of the body's most potent defence systems - antibodies can only attack outside the cell. | "Cell to cell transmission" allows the virus to bypass some of the body's most potent defence systems - antibodies can only attack outside the cell. |
| This will be a disappointment for scientists who hoped to boost antibody defences in order to stop the virus in its tracks. | This will be a disappointment for scientists who hoped to boost antibody defences in order to stop the virus in its tracks. |
| Liver damage | Liver damage |
| Dr Jennifer Timpe, who presented the research to the International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus in Glasgow, said: "This is probably why it has been so tricky to tackle. | Dr Jennifer Timpe, who presented the research to the International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus in Glasgow, said: "This is probably why it has been so tricky to tackle. |
| "Finding that Hep C uses multiple mechanisms for spreading around the body was not great news, but this discovery will allow those of us working in this area to move ahead with a better understanding of the virus. | "Finding that Hep C uses multiple mechanisms for spreading around the body was not great news, but this discovery will allow those of us working in this area to move ahead with a better understanding of the virus. |
| "We will have to up our game and find other ways of tackling this relentless virus." | "We will have to up our game and find other ways of tackling this relentless virus." |
| A spokesman for the British Liver Trust said: "Gaining a better understanding of the virus will certainly go some way into the development of treatment for hepatitis C patients - something which is desperately needed. | A spokesman for the British Liver Trust said: "Gaining a better understanding of the virus will certainly go some way into the development of treatment for hepatitis C patients - something which is desperately needed. |
| "At the moment approximately one in five people with a chronic infection of hepatitis C develop severe liver damage which can lead to liver cancer or liver failure and the need for liver transplantation. | "At the moment approximately one in five people with a chronic infection of hepatitis C develop severe liver damage which can lead to liver cancer or liver failure and the need for liver transplantation. |
| "These results indicate to a positive result for treatment solutions." | "These results indicate to a positive result for treatment solutions." |
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