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Current status of the vaccine
The current investigation of the hepatitis C vaccine has been started in primates and mice. A few of these early trials in animals have stepped forward into the first human trials, but only as therapeutic vaccines. Even fewer trials have been tested in healthy individuals as a prophylactic vaccine.
Most of these vaccines are working with the envelope region as the HCV antigen for immunization. This antigen is necessary for the entry of the virus into the cell, and it is repeated in many types and subtypes of hepatitis C. But even this gene has potential variability that studies need to deal with. Another candidate antigen is the core protein, which is also highly conserved between genotypes. Recent studies are now focusing on inducing a more potent response by T-cells against the antigens.
As of now, 4 vaccine variants and strategies have been tested in humans. They include envelope peptide vaccines, recombinant protein vaccines, vector vaccines, and DNA vaccines.
