ＴＧＦ−β受容体の活性化を抑制する活性を有する化合物、そのスクリーニング方法、並びにＣ型肝炎ウィルスに起因する疾患の予防又は治療のための組成物

摘要

An object is to provide a compound capable of inhibiting activation of TGF-&bgr; receptors due to HCV, and a screening method for the compound. It has been found that a HCV-derived NS3 protease binds to type I TGF-&bgr; receptor, and this binding results in activation of TGF-&bgr; receptors. Moreover, binding sites between the NS3 protease and type I TGF-&bgr; receptor were identified, and it has been found that antibodies recognizing these binding sites inhibit activation of TGF-&bgr; receptors due to NS3 protease. Furthermore, it has been also found that screening for a compound capable of inhibiting activation of TGF-&bgr; receptors can be performed by using the inhibition of the binding between NS3 protease and type I TGF-&bgr; receptor or the like as an index.