Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
Virus-Cell Interaction of HCV
Hideki Tani, Yasumasa Komoda, Chang-kwang Limn,
Kensuke Suzuki, Kohji Moriishi, Tatsuo Miyamura
and Yoshiharu Matsuura
*
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem worldwide for
almost two decades. However, precise mechanisms including an infection of
HCV to target cells or a cause of hepatocellular carcinoma are largely
unknown. Study of HCV has been hampered by the lack of a robust and reli-
able cell culture system and a small animal model that supports replication of
HCV. Understanding the mechanisms of HCV infection is essential for the
development of new effective therapies for chronic hepatitis C. HCV presum-
ably binds to specific receptor(s) and then enters into cells by endocytosis, as
do other members of the
Flaviviridae
family and several host membrane pro-
teins have been identified as receptor candidates for HCV. Recent advances of
pseudotype virus systems based on vesicular stomatitis virus or retrovirus have
provided further information surrounding the initial steps of HCV infection.
In this Chapter, we will present current status of our knowledge on the mech-
anisms of HCV infection including candidate receptors for HCV. (161 words)
Introduction
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has already infected more than 3% of the
worldwide population and 80% of these individuals will develop
persistent infection.
17,105
Persistent HCV infection often leads to
*From the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0821, Japan
and Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640,
Japan. E-mail: matsuura@biken.osaka-u.ac.jp
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