Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.6.1.2 (alanine aminotransferase)
 26,722 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is an immunosuppressive agent that is widely used in the management of liver transplant recipients. MMF inhibits the inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase that has been shown to have in vitro antiviral properties against flaviviruses, suggesting the possibility that it might also inhibit the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The goal of this short-term dose escalation study was to assess the antiviral effects of MMF on HCV replication. Patients with chronic hepatitis C who had not undergone liver transplantation were randomized to 8 weeks of treatment with one of four mycophenolate dose regimens (1000 mg orally twice daily, 500 mg orally twice daily, 250 mg orally twice daily, or a matched oral placebo twice daily). All groups were double-blinded. Quantitative HCV RNA levels and serum alanine aminotransferase were assessed at baseline, at weeks 2, 4, and 8 of dosing, and at weeks 4 and 8 of follow-up. Thirty patients met inclusion criteria, enrolled, and were randomized. HCV RNA levels did not change significantly during treatment. Specifically, no subject became virus negative or had a one-log decrease in virus level. Serum aminotransferase level did not normalize in any subject. The most common side effects were headache, nausea, and diarrhea. Mycophenolate alone does not appear to have a significant antiviral or biochemical effect in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
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PMID:Lack of antiviral effect of a short course of mycophenolate mofetil in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. 1251 74

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, with approximately 170-200 million people infected. The HCV virus is transmitted by blood and blood products and such transmission occurs primarily through drug use by injection, sex with an infected partner and occupational exposure. The severity of the disease varies widely from mild chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nowadays, the reference treatment is combination therapy of pegylated interferon and ribavirin, which is an inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase inhibitor and immunomodulator. Efficacy of treatment in our clinical trials is 87% in patients infected by HCV genotypes 2 or 3, whereas in patients infected by HCV genotype 1 response to treatment is 66%. The current combination treatment has significant side-effects and sometimes is poorly tolerated. HCV genotypes 2 or 3 can be treated with a lower dose of ribavirin and a shorter course of therapy, 24 weeks vs 48 weeks for patients with genotype 1. There is a growing consensus that acute control of HCV infection is associated with a vigorous intrahepatic antiviral CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell response, enhanced Th1 and natural killer activity. Pretreatment genotype and response to therapy measured at weeks 12 and 24 of treatment have been identified as key determinants in decisions about continuing treatment. Elevated serum ferritin levels and hepatic iron deposition as well as hepatic steatosis and high ALT levels with chronic hepatitis C are risk factors for HCC development. Heterozygosityfor the C282Y mutation in HFE contributes to iron accumulation and fibrosis progression in chronic hepatitis C. Ribavirin could cause dose-dependent reversible haemolytic anaemia, which can be managed with dose reductions or with administration of epoetin alpha at 40,000 IU once weekly without sacrificing the optimal dosing of ribavarin. Among patients who received ribavirin alone, serum ALT levels and necroinflammatory features of liver histology were improved, whereas symptoms, HCV RNA levels and hepatic fibrosis scores were not changed significantly from baseline. For HCV-HIV co-infected patients, treatment is given when blood CD4 counts are above 350/ml and before antiretroviral (ART) treatment is needed.
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PMID:Ribavirin in the treatment of hepatitis C. 1586 84

Inhibition of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is one of several proposed mechanisms of action for ribavirin (RBV), a critical component of the current treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC). This study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-escalation study of a novel, selective, orally active small molecule inhibitor of IMPDH, merimepodib (VX-497 or MMPD) in combination with standard interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). Fifty-four treatment-naive patients with genotype-1 CHC were randomized to receive IFN-alpha 3 MIU subcutaneously three times a week, alone or in combination with 100 mg or 300 mg (every 8 h) of MMPD for 4 weeks. At the end of 4 weeks, all patients were offered 48 weeks of treatment with IFN-alpha/RBV. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the tolerability of the IFN-alpha/MMPD combination and to evaluate whether MMPD had an on-treatment effect on HCV-RNA, similar to RBV when added to IFN-alpha. The drug combination was generally well tolerated; one patient at the higher dose discontinued because of elevated alanine aminotransferase levels. No pharmacokinetic interactions were evident between the two drugs. Analysis of covariance that adjusted for a baseline imbalance in HCV-RNA in the intent-to-treat population did not show any significant differences between the treatment groups, or between MMPD plus IFN-alpha compared with IFN-alpha alone. However, the per-protocol primary efficacy analysis based on treatment-compliant patients demonstrated a greater reduction in mean HCV-RNA in the combination of 100 mg MMPD plus IFN-alpha compared with IFN-alpha alone (-1.78 log vs -0.86 log, P=0.037). In conclusion, the addition of a selective IMPDH inhibitor to IFN-alpha was well tolerated. In a low-dose range, the addition of MMPD may have the potential to add to the antiviral efficacy of IFN-alpha. Larger, longer duration trials incorporating pegylated IFN would be required to determine whether this combination, alone or with RBV, would increase either early or sustained virological response rates.
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PMID:A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-escalation trial of merimepodib (VX-497) and interferon-alpha in previously untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C. 1615 57