Alfosbuvir plus Daclatasvir for Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection in China.

INTRODUCTION: A pan-genotypic and effective treatment regimen for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains an unmet medical need in China. Alfosbuvir is a novel potent HCV NS5B polymerase inhibitor in development for the treatment of chronic HCV infection. We conducted a phase 3 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of alfosbuvir in combination with daclatasvir in Chinese patients with HCV infection. METHODS: All patients received 600 mg alfosbuvir tablets plus 60 mg daclatasvir tablets once daily for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was sustained virological response 12 weeks after the end of treatment (SVR12). A follow-up visit was done at week 4 and 12, and those who achieved SVR12 were followed up at post-treatment week 24. RESULTS: Of the 326 patients who received at least one dose of the study drug, 320 (98.2% [95% confidence interval (CI): 96.5%-99.5%]) achieved sustained virological response at post-treatment week 12 (SVR12), which was superior to the historical SVR12 rate of 88% (p < 0.0001). The SVR12 rates were similar regardless of most baseline characteristics. The most common adverse event (AE) (≥ 10%) was hypercholesterolemia. Serious adverse events (SAEs) were reported in 25 (7.7%) patients, none of which was judged to be related to the study drug. The majority of AEs were mild to moderate in severity. CONCLUSIONS: Alfosbuvir plus daclatasvir for 12 weeks was highly effective and safe in Chinese patients infected with HCV genotype 1, 2, 3, or 6, suggesting that this regimen could be a promising option for HCV treatment in China irrespective of genotype. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov identifier, NCT04070235.

DNA Repair Factor Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase 1 Is a Proviral Factor in Hepatitis B Virus Covalently Closed Circular DNA Formation.

The biogenesis of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) from relaxed circular DNA (rcDNA) is essential for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Different host DNA repair proteins are involved in the conversion of rcDNA to cccDNA. Here, we reported that the DNA repair factor poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) is engaged in HBV cccDNA formation. PARP1 depletion remarkably impaired HBV replication and cccDNA synthesis. Inhibition of PARP1 poly (ADP-ribosylation) activity by olaparib suppressed cccDNA synthesis both in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, the early stage of cccDNA reservoir establishment was more sensitive to olaparib, suggesting that PARP1 participated in de novo cccDNA formation. Furthermore, PARP1 was activated by recognizing the rcDNA-like lesions directly and combined with other DNA repair proteins. The results presented proposed that the DNA damage-sensing protein PARP1 and poly(ADP-ribosylation) modification play a key role in cccDNA formation, which might be the target for developing the anti-HBV drug. IMPORTANCE The biogenesis and eradication of HBV cccDNA have been a research priority in recent years. In this study, we identified the DNA repair factor PARP1 as a host factor required for the HBV de novo cccDNA formation. HBV infection caused PARylation through PARP1 in Huh7-NTCP cells, primary human hepatocytes, and human-liver chimeric mice. We found that PARP1 could directly bind to the rcDNA lesions and was activated, PARylating other DNA repair proteins. We address the importance of PARP1-mediated PARylation in HBV cccDNA formation, which is a potential therapeutic target for chronic hepatitis B.

Real-world study on HBsAg loss of combination therapy in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B patients.

Combination therapy with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) can enhance hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance. However, the specific treatment strategy and the patients who would benefit the most are unclear. Therefore, we assessed the HBsAg loss rate of add-on PEG-IFN and explored the factors associated with HBsAg loss in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. This was a real-world cohort study of adults with CHB. Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative NAs-treated patients with baseline HBsAg ≤1500 IU/ml and HBV DNA < the lower limit of detection, or 100 IU/ml, received 48 weeks of add-on PEG-IFN. The primary outcome of the study was the rate of HBsAg loss at 48 weeks of combination treatment. Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, we determined factors associated with HBsAg loss. HBsAg loss in 2579 patients (mean age: 41.2 years; 80.9% male) was 36.7% (947 patients) at 48 weeks. HBsAg loss was highest in patients from south-central and southwestern China (40.0%). Factors independently associated with HBsAg loss included: increasing age (odds ratio = 0.961); being male (0.543); baseline HBsAg level (0.216); HBsAg decrease at 12 weeks (between 0.5 and 1.0 log10 IU/ml [2.405] and >1.0 log10 IU/ml [7.370]); alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increase at 12 weeks (1.365); haemoglobin (HGB) decrease at 12 weeks (1.558). There was no difference in the primary outcomes associated with the combination regimen. In conclusion, HBsAg loss by combination therapy was higher in patients from southern China than those from the north. An increased chance of HBsAg loss was associated with baseline characteristics and dynamic changes in clinical indicators.

Efficacy and safety of direct-acting antiviral therapies and baseline predictors for treatment outcomes in hepatitis C patients: A multicenter, real-world study in Guangdong, China.

The data on direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients in southern China with multiple genotypes circulating are limited. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DAA regimens among CHC patients in Guangdong, China. A total of 220 patients receiving a variety of DAA were enrolled. The primary outcome was sustained virologic response (SVR) at 12 weeks. Resistance associated substitutions (RASs) were evaluated by deep sequencing. The overall SVR rate was 96.4%, and was 97.7% for genotype 1, 100% for genotype 2, 91.9% for genotype 3, 95.7% for genotype 6, and 100% for untyped. The overall incidence of adverse events (AEs) was 8.2% (18/220) and all the AEs were mild. Nonstructural proteins 5A RAS, 30K/31M, and Y93H were most prevalent at baseline and the end of treatment in non-SVR patients, respectively. Logistics regression showed that elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) at baseline were specifically associated with non-SVR in patients with genotype 3 and 6 infections (p = 0.029 and p = 0.017) but not genotype 1 infection (p = 0.746 and p = 0.971), and baseline AST was the best predictor for SVR in genotypes 3 and 6 patients (area under curve = 0.890). Our studies demonstrated all DAA regimens achieved ideal SVR and were well tolerated. NS5A RAS were prevalent in non-SVR patients. Elevated ALT and AST as baseline predictors for non-SVR in genotypes 3 and 6 infections warrant further research in a larger cohort.

Efficacy and safety of alfosbuvir plus daclatasvir in Chinese patients with hepatitis C virus genotypes 1, 2, 3, and 6 infection: An open-label, phase 2 study.

Alfosbuvir is a novel potent HCV NS5B polymerase inhibitor in development for the treatment of chronic HCV infection. Our previous studies indicated that alfosbuvir monotherapy was well-tolerated and druggable in healthy subjects and HCV-infected patients. Here, we evaluate the efficacy and safety of alfosbuvir in combination with daclatasvir in Chinese patients with HCV genotype 1, 2, 3 or 6. In this open-label study, patients with chronic HCV infection were randomly assigned with a 1:1:1 ratio to receive 12 weeks of daclatasvir 60 mg plus alfosbuvir at a dose of 400, 600 or 800 mg (Cohort A, B or C) daily. Randomization was stratified by HCV genotype and the presence or absence of cirrhosis at screening. The primary endpoint was a sustained virologic response 12 weeks after the end of treatment (SVR12). A total of 124 patients were enrolled in the study, all of whom were available for post-treatment week 12 assessments. SVR12 was achieved in 92.7% (38/41), 95.2% (40/42) and 100% (41/41) of patients in Cohort A, B and C respectively. The most common adverse events were hepatic steatosis, upper respiratory tract infection, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, blood bilirubin increased, and total bile acids increased. There were no discontinuations due to adverse events, and no treatment-related serious adverse events were reported. Once-daily oral administration of alfosbuvir plus daclatasvir were highly effective and safe in Chinese patients infected with HCV genotype 1, 2, 3 or 6, suggesting this regimen could be a promising drug candidate for HCV treatment irrespective of genotype. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04070235).

Dynamic changes of HCV genomes under selective pressure from DAAs therapy in relapsed patients.

Currently, direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) are widely used as therapeutic methods for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive patients, however, patients may experience treatment failure, and the dynamic changes of HCV genomes in these patients are unknown. In this study, three real-world DAAs cohorts were enrolled to observe clinical efficacy. In addition, serum samples from treatment failure patients at baseline and relapse were used to analyze changes of the HCV genomes at near full-length genome level, including resistance-associated variants (RAVs), viral quasispecies diversity and selection analysis. Next-generation sequencing was used as the detection method. The overall sustained virological response at 12 w after the end of treatment was achieved in 91.9% (57/62) of HCV patients, and 3 paired samples obtained from relapsed patients. All the 3 patients harbored baseline NS5A RAVs, the frequency of NS5A RAVs increased in 2 patients and a new NS5A RAV emerged in 1 patient at relapse, and almost all the viral strains existed with NS5A RAVs at relapse. The results of the viral quasispecies diversity analysis revealed that viral quasispecies diversity decreased at relapse compared to baseline, and the results of selection analysis indicated that the virus population experienced a bottleneck phenomenon, recent selective sweep and population expansion or was under purification selection after DAAs treatment. This study indicated that the clinical efficacy was excellent in real-world DAAs cohorts, and the viral strains existed at relapse were selective by DAAs therapy.

Prognostic roles of KL-6 in disease severity and lung injury in COVID-19 patients: A longitudinal retrospective analysis.

To investigate the dynamic changes of Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the role of KL-6 as a noninvasive biomarker for predicting long-term lung injury, the clinical information and laboratory tests of 166 COVID-19 patients were collected, and a correlation analysis between KL-6 and other parameters was conducted. There were 17 (10.2%, 17/166) severe/critical and 149 (89.8%, 149/166) mild COVID-19 patients in our cohort. Serum KL-6 was significantly higher in severe/critical COVID-19 patients than in mild patients (median 898.0 vs. 451.2 U/ml, p < .001). KL-6 was next confirmed to be a sensitive and specific biomarker for distinguishing mild and severe/critical patients and correlate to computed tomography lung lesions areas. Serum KL-6 concentration during the follow-up period (>100 days postonset) was well correlated to those concentrations within 10 days postonset (Pearson r = .867, p < .001), indicating the prognostic value of KL-6 levels in predicting lung injury after discharge. Finally, elevated KL-6 was found to be significantly correlated to coagulation disorders, and T cells subsets dysfunctions. In summary, serum KL-6 is a biomarker for assessing COVID-19 severity and predicting the prognosis of lung injury of discharged patients.

Longitudinal clinical and radiographic evaluation reveals interleukin-6 as an indicator of persistent pulmonary injury in COVID-19.

Rationale: Previous studies of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were mainly focused on cross-sectional analysis. In this study, we sought to evaluate the dynamic changes of immunological and radiographic features, and the association with the outcome of pulmonary lesions in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Peripheral blood samples and radiographic data were collected longitudinally for up to 8 weeks from 158 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients. The chest computed tomography (CT) scans were scored based on a semi-quantification assessment according to the extent of pulmonary abnormalities; the temporal change of the immunological and radiographic features was analyzed. Results: Compared with mild and moderate patients, severe patients had significantly decreased counts of lymphocytes, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD19+ B cells but dramatically elevated counts of neutrophils and levels of interleukin (IL)-6. Sequential monitoring showed a sustained increase in lymphocytes counts and significantly decreased levels of IL-6 in severe patients during the disease course. Notably, patients with persistent pulmonary lesions (CT score ≥ 5 in week 8) showed high levels of IL-6 during the follow-up period, compared with those with recovery lesions (CT score < 5 in week 8). More importantly, the peak expression of IL-6 prior to the aggravated lung injury was mainly found in patients with persistent lesions, and multivariate analysis showed that IL-6 level upon admission was an independent factor associated with the persistent pulmonary injury. Conclusion: Prolonged elevation of IL-6 is associated with persistent pulmonary lesions in COVID-19 patients. Sequential monitoring and timely intervention of IL-6 may favor the clinical management of COVID-19.

Factors associated with clinical outcomes in patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Guangzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is threatening billions of people. We described the clinical characteristics and explore virological and immunological factors associated with clinical outcomes. METHODS: 297 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital between January 20 and February 20, 2020 were included. Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data were collected and analyzed. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in respiratory tract, blood samples and digestive tract was detected and lymphocyte subsets were tested periodically. RESULT: Among the 297 patients (median age of 48 years), 154 (51.9 %) were female, 245 (82.5 %) mild/moderate cases, and 52 (17.5 %) severe/critical cases. 270 patients were detected for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in anal swabs and/or blood samples, and the overall positive rate was 23.0 % (62/270), higher in severe/critical cases than in mild/moderate cases (52.0 % vs. 16.4 %, P < 0.001). The CD4/CD8 ratio on admission was significantly higher in severe/critical cases than in mild/moderate cases (1.84 vs. 1.50, P = 0.022). During a median follow-up period of 17 days, 36 (12.1 %) patients were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU), 16 (5.4 %) patients developed respiratory failure and underwent mechanical ventilation, four (1.3 %) patients needed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), only one (0.34 %) patients died of multiple organ failure. Detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA in anal swabs and/or blood samples, as well as higher CD4/CD8 ratio were independent risk factors of respiratory failure and ICU admission. CONCLUSIONS: Most of COVID-19 patients in Guangzhou are mild/moderate, and presence of extrapulmonary virus and higher CD4/CD8 ratio are associated with higher risk of worse outcomes.

A compromised specific humoral immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain is related to viral persistence and periodic shedding in the gastrointestinal tract.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been redetected after discharge in some coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. The reason for the recurrent positivity of the test and the potential public health concern due to this occurrence are still unknown. Here, we analyzed the viral data and clinical manifestations of 289 domestic Chinese COVID-19 patients and found that 21 individuals (7.3%) were readmitted for hospitalization after detection of SARS-CoV-2 after discharge. First, we experimentally confirmed that the virus was involved in the initial infection and was not a secondary infection. In positive retests, the virus was usually found in anal samples (15 of 21, 71.4%). Through analysis of the intracellular viral subgenomic messenger RNA (sgmRNA), we verified that positive retest patients had active viral replication in their gastrointestinal tracts (3 of 16 patients, 18.7%) but not in their respiratory tracts. Then, we found that viral persistence was not associated with high viral titers, delayed viral clearance, old age, or more severe clinical symptoms during the first hospitalization. In contrast, viral rebound was associated with significantly lower levels of and slower generation of viral receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific IgA and IgG antibodies. Our study demonstrated that the positive retest patients failed to create a robust protective humoral immune response, which might result in SARS-CoV-2 persistence in the gastrointestinal tract and possibly in active viral shedding. Further exploration of the mechanism underlying the rebound in SARS-CoV-2 in this population will be crucial for preventing virus spread and developing effective vaccines.

Coblopasvir and sofosbuvir for treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in China: A single-arm, open-label, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND & AIM: An affordable, pangenotypic regimen remains as an unmet medical need for chronic hepatitis C patients in China. This single-arm, open-label, multicenter, phase 3 trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of coblopasvir, a pangenotypic non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) inhibitor, combined with sofosbuvir for treating Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS: Treatment-naïve and interferon-experienced adult patients, including those with advanced fibrosis (F3) or compensated cirrhosis (F4), were treated with a universal, combinational regimen of coblopasvir 60 mg and sofosbuvir 400 mg, once daily, for 12 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was sustained virological response at post-treatment week 12 (SVR12). RESULTS: Overall, 371 patients (men, 51%; age, 47 ± 11 years; genotype 1a < 1%, 1b 48%, 2a 26%, 3a 6%, 3b 7% and 6 12%) were enrolled from 19 sites. Fifty-one patients (14%) had F3, 39 patients (11%) had F4 and 39 patients (11%) were interferon experienced. The overall SVR12 was 97% (95% CI, [94%, 98%]) for the full analysis set and was equal to or above 90% for all predefined subsets. Ten patients (3%) experienced virological relapse and two patients did not complete follow-up. No adverse events (AEs) occurred at a frequency ≥5%, and the most often reported AEs (≥1%) were neutropenia and fatigue. The majority of AEs were mild to moderate and transient without specific medical intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The universal, pangenotypic combo of coblopasvir plus sofosbuvir is an efficacious and safe treatment for Chinese patients monoinfected with HCV of genotype 1, 2, 3 and 6, including those with compensated cirrhosis. LAY SUMMARY: The regimen of coblopasvir and sofosbuvir is a safe and effective treatment for Chinese patients with genotype 1, 2, 3 and 6 HCV infection, including those with compensated cirrhosis. Therefore, this regimen would be a novel choice of treatment for this patient population.

Author Correction: Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Efficacy and Safety of Lopinavir/Ritonavir or Arbidol in Adult Patients with Mild/Moderate COVID-19: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Antiviral therapies against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which has caused a global pandemic of respiratory illness called COVID-19, are still lacking. METHODS: Our study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04252885, named ELACOI), was an exploratory randomized (2:2:1) controlled trial assessing the efficacy and safety of lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) or arbidol monotherapy for treating patients with mild/moderate COVID-19. FINDINGS: This study successfully enrolled 86 patients with mild/moderate COVID-19, with 34 randomly assigned to receive LPV/r, 35 to arbidol, and 17 with no antiviral medication as control. Baseline characteristics of the three groups were comparable. The primary endpoint, the rate of positive-to-negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid, was similar between groups (all p > 0.05). There were no differences between groups in the secondary endpoints, the rates of antipyresis, cough alleviation, or improvement of chest computed tomography (CT) at days 7 or 14 (all p > 0.05). At day 7, 8 (23.5%) patients in the LPV/r group, 3 (8.6%) in the arbidol group, and 2 (11.8%) in the control group showed a deterioration in clinical status from moderate to severe/critical (p = 0.206). Overall, 12 (35.3%) patients in the LPV/r group and 5 (14.3%) in the arbidol group experienced adverse events during the follow-up period. No apparent adverse event occurred in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: LPV/r or arbidol monotherapy present little benefit for improving the clinical outcome of patients hospitalized with mild/moderate COVID-19 over supportive care. FUNDING: This study was supported by project 2018ZX10302103-002, 2017ZX10202102-003-004, and Infectious Disease Specialty of Guangzhou High-level Clinical Key Specialty (2019-2021).

Clinical Characteristics of Patients Infected With the Novel 2019 Coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) in Guangzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: The clinical manifestations and factors associated with the severity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections outside of Wuhan are not clearly understood. METHODS: All laboratory-confirmed cases with SARS-Cov-2 infection who were hospitalized and monitored in Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital were recruited from January 20 to February 10. RESULTS: A total of 275 patients were included in this study. The median patient age was 49 years, and 63.6% had exposure to Wuhan. The median virus incubation period was 6 days. Fever (70.5%) and dry cough (56.0%) were the most common symptoms. A decreased albumin level was found in 51.3% of patients, lymphopenia in 33.5%, and pneumonia based on chest computed tomography in 86%. Approximately 16% of patients (n = 45) had severe disease, and there were no deaths. Compared with patients with nonsevere disease, those with severe disease were older, had a higher frequency of coexisting conditions and pneumonia, and had a shorter incubation period (all P < .05). There were no differences between patients who likely contacted the virus in Wuhan and those who had no exposure to Wuhan. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that older age, male sex, and decreased albumin level were independently associated with disease severity. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Guangzhou, China are not severe cases and patients with older age, male, and decreased albumin level were more likely to develop into severe ones.

Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19.

We report temporal patterns of viral shedding in 94 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and modeled COVID-19 infectiousness profiles from a separate sample of 77 infector-infectee transmission pairs. We observed the highest viral load in throat swabs at the time of symptom onset, and inferred that infectiousness peaked on or before symptom onset. We estimated that 44% (95% confidence interval, 25-69%) of secondary cases were infected during the index cases' presymptomatic stage, in settings with substantial household clustering, active case finding and quarantine outside the home. Disease control measures should be adjusted to account for probable substantial presymptomatic transmission.

Safety and efficacy of coblopasvir and sofosbuvir in patients with genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 6 HCV infections without or with compensated cirrhosis.

A simple, pangenotypic and effective treatment regimen for patients with a broad range of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections remains an unmet medical need. We conducted a phase 2, randomized, open study involving untreated patients with chronic HCV genotypes 1, 2, 3, or 6 infections. Patients without cirrhosis were randomly assigned in a 1:2 ratio to receive capsules of the NS5A inhibitor coblopasvir at a dose of 30 or 60 mg plus tablets of the nucleotide polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir (400 mg) once daily for 12 weeks. Patients with cirrhosis received 60 mg coblopasvir plus sofosbuvir for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after the end of therapy (SVR12). Of the 110 patients who were enrolled in the study, 59 were male, 62.7% had HCV genotype 1, 24.5% had genotype 2, 6.4% had genotype 3, and 6.4% had genotype 6. The average age was 45.5 years. A total of 10.9% of patients had compensated cirrhosis. The rate of SVR12 was 98.2% in the intention-to-treat (ITT). One genotype 6 patient with cirrhosis experienced virologic relapse. One genotype 2 patient without cirrhosis failed to complete the follow-up and quit the study. Serious adverse events (SAEs) were reported in 2 patients and were not related to coblopasvir and sofosbuvir. Most adverse events (AEs) did not require treatment. Coblopasvir plus sofosbuvir taken once daily for 12 weeks provided high rates of sustained virologic response (SVR) and had a good safety profile among patients with HCV genotypes 1, 2, 3, or 6 infections, including those with compensated cirrhosis.

Efficacy and Safety of 12-week Interferon-based Danoprevir Regimen in Patients with Genotype 1 Chronic Hepatitis C.

Background and Aims: Genotype (GT) 1 remains the predominant hepatitis c virus (HCV) GT in Chinese patients. Over 80% of those Chinese patients harbor the interferon-sensitive CC allele of IFNL4rs12979860, which is favorable for interferon-based treatment regimens. This phase III clinical trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the ritonavir-boosted danoprevir plus pegylated-interferon α-2a and ribavirin regimen for 12 weeks in treatment-naïve mainland Chinese patients infected with HCV GT1 without cirrhosis. Methods: One hundred and forty-one treatment-naïve, non-cirrhotic HCV GT1 Chinese patients (age ≥18 years) were enrolled for this single-arm, multicenter, phase III MANASA study (NCT03020082). Patients received a combination of ritonavir-boosted danoprevir (100 mg/100 mg) twice a day plus subcutaneous injection of weekly pegylated-interferon α-2a (180 µg) and oral ribavirin (1000/1200 mg/day body weight <75/≥75 kg) for 12 weeks. The primary end-point was sustained virologic response rate at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. The secondary end-points were safety outcomes, tolerability, virologic response over time and relapse rate. Results: All enrolled patients were HCV GT1-infected, and most among them (97.9%, 123/141) had the HCV GT1b subtype. Single-nucleotide polymorphism test showed that the majority of patients were of the IFNL4 rs12979860 CC genotype (87.2%, 123/141). Overall, 140 patients completed the 12-week treatment, and 97.1% (136/140) patients achieved sustained virologic response at 12 weeks (per protocol population group, 95% confidence interval: 92.9-99.2%). Only drug-related serious adverse event occurred. Most of the adverse events were grade 1 and grade 2 alanine aminotransferase elevation or liver dysfunction. One patient discontinued treatment because of severe head injury in a car accident. Conclusions: The triple regimen of ritonavir-boosted danoprevir plus pegylated-interferon α-2a and ribavirin produced a sustained virologic response rate of 97.1% after 12 weeks treatment in noncirrhotic HCV GT1-infected Chinese patients, and was safe and well tolerated. Trial Registration Clinical-Trials.gov Identifier: NCT03020082.

Efficacy and Safety of All-oral, 12-week Ravidasvir Plus Ritonavir-boosted Danoprevir and Ribavirin in Treatment-naïve Noncirrhotic HCV Genotype 1 Patients: Results from a Phase 2/3 Clinical Trial in China.

Background and Aims: Ravidasvir (RDV) is a new generation pangenotypic hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5A inhibitor, with high barrier to baseline resistance-associated species. This is the first phase 2/3 study conducted in Mainland China confirming the efficacy and safety of RDV + ritonavir-boosted danoprevir + ribavirin for 12 weeks in treatment-naïve noncirrhotic patients with genotype 1 infection in a large population. Methods: In this multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase 2/3 trial (NCT03362814), we enrolled 424 treatment-naïve, noncirrhotic adult HCV genotype 1 patients. All patients were randomized at 3:1 ratio to receive a combination of RDV 200mg once daily plus ritonavir-boosted danoprevir 100mg/100mg twice daily and oral ribavirin 1000/1200mg/day (body weight <75/≥75 kg) (n = 318) or placebo (n = 106) for 12 weeks. The primary end-point was the rate of sustained virologic response 12 weeks after the end of treatment, and the safety was evaluated and compared between treatment and placebo groups. Results: The overall rate of sustained virological response at 12 weeks after treatment is 99% (306/309, 95%, CI: 97%-100%) under per protocol set analysis. All patients harboring baseline NS5A resistance-associated species in the treatment group (76/76, per protocol set) achieved sustained virological response at 12 weeks after treatment. No treatment-related serious adverse events were reported. Laboratory abnormalities showed mild or moderate severity (grade 1 and grade 2) in liver function tests. Conclusions: In treatment-naïve, noncirrhotic HCV Chinese patients infected with HCV genotype 1, all-oral regimen of RDV + ritonavir-boosted danoprevir + ribavirin for 12 weeks was highly efficacious, safe, and well tolerated.

A novel one-step quantitative reverse transcription PCR assay for selective amplification of hepatitis B virus pregenomic RNA from a mixture of HBV DNA and RNA in serum.

Current antiviral therapies against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, such as treatment with nucleos(t)ide analogs (NAs) and interferon alpha, can significantly lower HBV DNA titers, eventually to undetectable levels. However, it is still difficult to completely eliminate the stable template of HBV, the covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), and this contributes to viral rebound when treatment is discontinued. HBV pregenomic RNA (pgRNA), which was recently found to be present in the enveloped mature HBV viral particle in blood, is tentatively regarded, with still accumulating clinical evidence, as a novel bona fide virological marker reflecting the amount and status of cccDNA when serum HBV DNA becomes undetectable. HBV pgRNA and DNA share almost identical sequences, and it is therefore difficult to differentiate pgRNA from viral DNA using normal PCR methods. To exclude interference from viral DNA, methods for measuring pgRNA usually require a selective DNA degradation step, which is complicated and time-consuming and also compromises the accuracy of detection. In this study, we developed a simplified quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay with improved accuracy achieved by probing the polyA tail of pgRNA. Using clinical serum samples, we observed that not all patients share the same 3' sequence, suggesting slight differences between HBV strains in the way they end transcription. We then designed and evaluated a universal primer and probe set for distinguishing HBV pgRNA from HBV DNA. Our results demonstrated that a one-step qRT-PCR assay could selectively amplify HBV pgRNA from a mixture of HBV RNA and DNA, which is valuable for clinical applications.

Interferon alpha treatment leads to a high rate of hepatitis B surface antigen seroconversion in Chinese children with chronic hepatitis B.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (CHB) in children remains a public health challenge despite significant success in programme is established to prevent mother-to-child transmission. In particular, CHB in Chinese children are mostly acquired through vertical transmission, which differs from the common infection route reported in other countries and regions. This situation has resulted in a high endemic prevalence of CHB in Chinese adults. Thus, successful treatment of children with CHB will prevent the development of advanced liver diseases in late adulthood. However, there is still no consensus on the clinical guideline to treat paediatric CHB. In this study, we evaluated the potential of interferon alpha (IFNa) treatment for Chinese children with CHB. A total of 41 patients with CHB aged 3-17 years were enrolled in this retrospective study: 21 patients were treated with pegylated (PEG)-IFNa and 20 patients without treatment served as the control group. The rates of HBV DNA suppression, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) clearance and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance were significantly higher in the PEG-IFNa treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.05 at 48 weeks). Unexpectedly, PEG-IFNa treatment achieved a high rate of HBsAb production, far exceeding the clinical outcome in documented PEG-IFNa-treated CHB adults. Further analysis revealed that younger children (3-6 years old) were more responsive to PEG-IFNa treatment with respect to achieving a protective level of HBsAb in a short treatment cycle than adolescents (10-17 years old). Overall, these results indicate that the immune system of children might have a preserved PEG-IFNa-mediated mechanism to completely control HBV, which can help to design new strategies to treat CHB patients.