Characterization of the antiviral effects of 2′ carbodeoxyguanosine in ducks chronically infected with duck hepatitis B virus

This study was carried out to evaluate benefits and limitations of long‐term therapy of hepatitis B virus infections with a nucleoside analog inhibitor of virus replication. The model we used was the domestic duck chronically infected with duck hepatitis B virus by in ovo infection. 2′ Carbodeoxyguanosine was used as an inhibitor of viral DNA synthesis. In all animals examined there was a reduction in virus production during therapy. A dose of 2′ carbodeoxyguanosine of 10 μg/kg every other day reduced the number of infected hepatocytes from greater than 95 to 25 to 50 in less than 3 mo, whereas a 10‐fold higher dose produced a decline to less than 10. Histological evaluation revealed mild to moderate liver injury in ducks receiving the higher dose of 2′ carbodeoxyguanosine, suggesting that disappearance of infected hepatocytes may have been accelerated by a toxic effect of the drug. Drug treatment did not completely eliminate duck hepatitis B virus from any duck, and replication was restored in all hepatocytes within a few weeks to several months after antiviral therapy was terminated. Our results suggest that elimination of a chronic infection with a single inhibitor of replication may be difficult in a host that lacks an antiviral immune response capable of eliminating at least a portion of the infected hepatocytes and of ultimately producing antibodies capable of neutralizing residual virus. (Hepatology 1994; 19:398–411).