Ethanol-mediated stimulation of HCV replication in vitro: Role of MAP Kinase activity and generation of radical oxygen species

Aims: In chronic hepatitis C the natural course of the disease is more aggressive in alcoholics and leads earlier to liver cirrhosis. Furthermore, the sustained virological reponse upon interferon therapy is diminished in alcoholics. Aim: To clarify the effect of ethanol on viral replication in the replicon system. Methods: All experiments were done in the replicon system. We used a replicon with a stably replicating subgenomic HCV RNA which also carries the firefly luciferase as an reporter gene. The replicon was stimulated with different concentrations of ethanol and modulated by MAP kinase inhibitors (SB 2035…