Glecaprevir

Glecaprevir (CAS No.: 1365970-03-1) is an orally bioavailable, direct-acting antiviral agent classified as a hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3/4A serine protease inhibitor, widely utilized in biomedical research to investigate viral replication mechanisms and antiviral drug resistance. By selectively inhibiting the NS3/4A protease, glecaprevir disrupts proteolytic processing of the HCV polyprotein, thereby blocking viral RNA replication and maturation across multiple genotypes. It exhibits potent antiviral activity in biochemical and cell-based systems, with inhibitory effects observed in the low nanomolar range against diverse HCV genotypes, while demonstrating high selectivity over human proteases. In replicon and infectious cell culture models, glecaprevir effectively suppresses viral replication, and its activity is enhanced in combination with NS5A inhibitors such as pibrentasvir, reflecting synergistic antiviral effects. Resistance profiling studies indicate that substitutions at key NS3 positions, including A156, D/Q168, Y65H, and Q80R, can reduce susceptibility, making it a valuable tool for studying resistance-associated variants and the genetic barrier to antiviral escape. In addition to its primary antiviral activity, glecaprevir has shown inhibitory effects against other viral proteases at micromolar concentrations, supporting broader antiviral research applications. It is commonly employed in in vitro assays, replicon systems, and antiviral screening platforms, where experimental concentrations are tailored to specific assay conditions and research objectives, particularly in studies of viral protease function, combination therapies, and resistance mechanisms.