Around 58 million people suffer from chronic inflammation caused by the hepatitis C virus, and 300,000 people die from the disease every year. A study is the first to map the protein complex that enables the virus to infect our cells, potentially paving the way for an effective vaccine.

Around 58 million people suffer from chronic inflammation caused by the hepatitis C virus, and 300,000 people die from the disease every year.

So far, no treatment has successfully managed to reduce the prevalence of hepatitis C in the world, and this has prompted scientists to start looking for a vaccine. However, limited knowledge of the protein complex that enables the virus to infect the cells has made this difficult.

A new study by a cross-disciplinary research team at the University of Copenhagen is about to change that.

“We are the first ever to identify the protein complex at the surface of the hepatitis C virus that enables it to bind to our cells,” says Associate Professor Jannick Prentø.

“This knowledge of the structure of the protein complex will enable us to design vaccine candidates that can prevent the virus from infecting the cells,” says Postdoc Elias Augestad.

The protein complex helps the virus bind to the cells. In the corona virus, it is a so-called spike protein with the well-known spikes. In the hepatitis C virus, the structure is different, but the function of the protein complex is the same.

[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07783-5](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07783-5)