Development of a Leukocyte Removal Filter for Hepatitis C Therapy and the Possibility of Multipurpose Treatment

Hepatitis C virus infects and causes inflammation in extrahepatic organs and the liver. Patients with chronic hepatitis C disease receive interferon-based treatment, and both interferon and interferon-free therapies are expensive. We attempted to eliminate hepatitis C virus-infected cells using extracorporeal circulation with a unique filter. We created two types of the filters with syndiotactic polystyrene (SPS) resin sheets in a solution that dissolved hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and cellulose acetate (CA) in oleyl alcohol, respectively. First, hepatitis C virus-positive cells were confirmed in the blood and mononuclear cells of hepatitis C virus-infected volunteers, showing that mononuclear cells phagocytosed the hepatitis C virus. Next, we extracted blood from three healthy volunteers and examined the blood cell removal rate using various filters. The HPC-SPS (fiber diameter, 3.5 μm) showed the highest mononuclear cell removal rate and the lowest platelet removal rate. HPC-SPS reduced hepatitis C virus-positive cells in patients with the hepatitis C virus, and the removal rate of monocytes containing the hepatitis C virus was 77.2%. Thus, HPC-SPS may serve as filter to remove mononuclear cells and granulocytes from blood. Although a technique using extracorporeal circulation is required to apply HPC-SPS, the technical cost is lower than IFN-free drug therapy. We believe that HPC-SPS can be utilized for the treatment of HCV- and leukocyte-related diseases.