Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an enveloped RNA virus. One of the hallmarks of HCV infection is a rearrangement of the host cell membranes, known as the ‘membranous web’.
The research paper below, published by partners in the CoCID consortium, describes how Cryo-SXT was used to help investigate the morphology of the membranous rearrangements induced in HCV replicon-harbouring cells in conditions close to the living physiological state. All morphological alterations could be reverted by a combination of sofosbuvir/daclatasvir, which are clinically approved antivirals (direct-acting antivirals; DAAs) for HCV infection.
Cryo-SXT helped provide critical information on the chemical nature of specific infection-related structures, which allows specific patterns of the infection process or the DAA-mediated healing process to be distinguished.
Monitoring reversion of hepatitis C virus-induced cellular alterations by direct-acting antivirals using cryo soft X-ray tomography and infrared microscopy
Ana J. Perez-Berna,a * Nuria Benseny-Cases,a Marı´a Jose´ Rodrı´guez,b Ricardo Valcarcel,a Jose´ L. Carrascosa,b Pablo Gastaminzab and Eva Pereiroa
Accepted for publication in Structural Biology on 24 September, 2021.