Inhibition of hepatitis C virus adsorption to peripheral blood mononuclear cells by dextran sulfate.

Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) can be infected in vitro with sera of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. We have treated pools of PBMC with dextran sulfate MW 8,000, before infection with various HCV(+) sera. When the cells were treated with dextran sulfate 10-3 M, HCV RNA was no longer detectable after infection with all HCV genotypes tested. When the cells incubated with dextran sulfate 10-3 M and 10-4 M were maintained in culture for 4 weeks, no significant HCV replication could be observed. Our data suggest that dextran sulfate inhibits the attachment of HCV to the cell surface, since the HCV RNA detection was similar to control cells when dextran sulfate was added after infection.