Biological Properties Of Hepatitis C Virus

The mechanisms of hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) and replication in\ntargeted cells, the mechanism of persistent viral infection and the\npathogenesis of HCV hepatic disease are poorly understood. HCV is a\nsmallenveloped virus containing a positive-sense, singlestrained (RNA).\nIt is classified in the separate genus Hepacivirus in the Flaviviridae\nfamily. HCV genome contains approximately 9600 nucleotides that encode\na polyprotein of around 3000 amino acids depending on the genotype. The\nvarious genotypes are distributed into 6 main types (1-6) with various\nsubtypes (a-c). Within its hosts HCV exists as a pool of genetically\ndistinct but closely related variants called quasispecies. Hepatocytes\nappear to be the major site of HCV replication, but peripheral blood\nmononuclear cells and lymph nodes are also natural target cells.\nBecause of the lack of convenient in vitro tissue culture systems for\nefficient virus propagation the current understanding of the molecular\nmechanisms of HCV replication is mainly hypothetic.