Talk at U of L to discuss research of hepatitis B virus

CALGARY LIVER UNIT MEDICAL DIRECTOR TO SPEAK TODAY

For Lethbridge residents suffering from the effects of chronic HBV and its resulting health problems, treatment options in Lethbridge are limited, sending most patients to the Calgary Liver Unit.

Today, Calgary Liver Unit Medical Director Dr. Carla Coffin will present her work at the University of Lethbridge as part of the U of L’s Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI) Speaker Series.

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a human pathogen that causes both acute and chronic infection, affecting millions of people worldwide. Hundreds of people in Lethbridge are likely suffering from chronic HBV.

Coffin, in collaboration with the U of L’s Dr. Trushar Patel, is working to combat the disease.

“Our work integrates Dr. Coffin’s expertise in molecular virology with my expertise in structural biophysics tools,” said Patel, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and member of ARRTI, in a recent U of L news release.

“When viruses infect cells, they use the cell’s own machinery to produce more copies of themselves. Our research is focused on investigating the mechanisms by which host proteins aid HBV replication, for example, the transcription of the HBV DNA genome into RNA. Understanding such mechanisms could result in identification of target proteins, against which novel therapeutic molecules can be developed to treat HBV infection.”

The likelihood of developing chronic hepatitis after an acute infection depends on the age of the patient; one to five per cent in adults, five to 10 per cent in adolescents, 25 to 50 per cent in children aged one to five years, and 90 per cent for infants.

After several decades, which are usually asymptomatic, 20 to 25 per cent of HBV carriers will develop cirrhosis of the liver, and five to six per cent will develop liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC). Although there are good treatments to control the infection, there is no cure and many patients often require lifelong, expensive therapy.

Coffin has been an associate professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary since 2009. She was co-chair of the 2018 Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver Management of HBV Guidelines C.

Her talk, Hepatitis B Virus Persistence, takes place today at 3 p.m. in room C756 at the University of Lethbridge, and is open to the public.