Secreted Interferon-Inducible Factors Restrict Hepatitis B and C Virus Entry in Vitro

Interferon-α (ifn-α) has been used for more than 20 years as the first-line therapy for hepatitis b virus (hbv) and hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection,because it has a number of antiviral effects. in this study,we describe a novel mode of its antiviral action. we demonstrate that the supernatant from ifn-α-treated cultured cells restricted hbv and hcv infection by inhibiting viral entry into hepatoma cells. the factors contained in the supernatant competed with the virus for binding to heparan glycosaminoglycans - the nonspecific attachment step shared by hbv and hcv. secreted factors of high molecular mass that bind to heparin columns elicited the antiviral effect. in conclusion,ifn-α is able to induce soluble factors that can bind to heparan glycosaminoglycans thus leading to the inhibition of viral binding. © 2017 yuchen xia et al.