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

AIM To evaluate the antiviral potency of a new anti-hepatitis 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 × 10(6) 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 dose-dependent 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 dose-dependent manner without cytotoxic effect.