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New vaccine for Hepatitis C in development

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Researchers say a new vaccine being tested on mice may one day help in the fight against hepatitis C.

A team at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious

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Disease Organization has produced a vaccine candidate that decreased the amount of a carrier virus expressing hepatitis C virus -- HCV -- protein in mice by 100,000 times compared to the control.

The study was published in this month's Journal of General Virology.

"This technique uses the body's own cells, called dendritic cells, to

vaccinate against hepatitis C," said Bhagirath Singh, scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Dendritic cells are key components of the immune system, activating and

shaping the immune response.

"The vaccine reduced the amount of hepatitis C protein in a highly significant manner," said Singh. "This offers a very promising approach to prevent liver disease caused by the virus and to ultimately eliminate it from the body."

HCV is the leading cause for liver transplants in the Western world, and its annual death toll is expected to triple in the next 10 years, the study said.

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