Anti-hepatitis C virus potency of a new autophagy inhibitor using human liver slices model

AIM: To evaluate the antiviral potency of a new antihepatitis C virus(HCV) antiviral agent targeting the cellular autophagy machinery. METHODS: Non-infected liver slices, obtained from human liver resection and cut in 350 μm-thick slices(2.7 × 106 cells per slice) were infected with cell culture-grown HCV Con1b/C3 supernatant(multiplicity of infection = 0.1) cultivated for up to ten days. HCV infected slices were treated at day 4 post-infection with GNS-396 for 6 d at different concentrations. HCV replication was evaluated by strand-specific real-time quantitative reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction. The infectivity titers of supernatants were evaluated by foci formation upon inoculation into naive Huh-7.5.1 cells. The cytotoxic effect of the drugs was evaluated by lactate dehydrogenase leakage assays. RESULTS: The antiviral efficacy of a new antiviral drug, GNS-396, an autophagy inhibitor, on HCV infection of adult human liver slices was evidenced in a dosedependent manner. At day 6 post-treatment, GNS-396 EC50 was 158 nmol/L without cytotoxic effect(compared to hydroxychloroquine EC50 = 1.17 μmol/L).CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that our ex vivo model is efficient for evaluation the potency of autophagy inhibitors, in particular a new quinoline derivative GNS-396 as antiviral could inhibit HCV infection in a dosedependent manner without cytotoxic effect.