The present invention relates to hydrophobic modified preS-derived peptides of
hepatitis B
virus (HBV) which are versatile vehicles for the specific delivery of compounds to the liver, preferably to hepatocytes,
in vitro as well as
in vivo. Any kind of compound, but in particular drugs, such as interferons, viral
reverse transcriptase inhibitors or core
assembly inhibitors, and / or labels can be specifically targeted to the liver and so be enriched in the liver. This
liver targeting can further be used for the targeted diagnosis, prevention and / or treatment of liver diseases or disorders, such as
hepatitis,
malaria,
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as well as for the prevention of HAV, HBV, HCV and / or HDV infection. The present invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising said hydrophobic modified preS-derived
peptide(s) and the compound(s) to be specifically delivered to the liver. The present invention furthermore relates to a method for the
combined treatment of a
liver disease and the prevention of HAV, HBV, HCV and / or HDV infection. The present invention relates also to the use of the preS-derived peptides in
gene therapy and the delivery of immunogenic epitopes for
hepatocyte-mediated
antigen presentation to activate liver-directed immunological responses.