Recombinant hepatitis C virus in experimentally infected chimpanzees.

Cloning and expression of NS3 helicase fragment of hepatitis C virus and the study of its immunoreactivity in HCV infected patients

Objective(s): Hepatitis C is a major cause of liver failure worldwide. Current therapies applied for this disease are not fully effective and produce side effects in most cases. Non-structural protein 3 helicase (NS3) of HCV is one of the key enzymes in viral replication and infection. Therefore, this region is a promising target to design new drugs and therapies against HCV infection. The aim ...

CpG Motif as an Adjuvant in Immunization of a Recombinant Plasmid Encoding Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein

Selective transmission of hepatitis C virus genotypes and quasispecies in humans and experimentally infected chimpanzees.

This study determined whether selective transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) species occurred among human and chimpanzee recipients of contaminated blood products or plasma containing multiple genotypes, subgenotypes and quasispecies. Commercially prepared factor VIII concentrate (lot DO56), produced prior to HCV testing and inactivation, was subsequently found by direct cloning to contain t...

A new enzyme immunoassay for the detection of antibody to hepatitis E virus.

BACKGROUND AND AIM The purpose of the present study was to develop enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the detection of IgG anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) activity using two new recombinant proteins as antigenic targets, and to evaluate these EIA with the aid of statistical methods. METHODS Two proteins, a mosaic protein and pB166 containing region 452-617 aa of the ORF2 of the HEV Burma strain, were ...

High prevalence of TT virus (TTV) in naive chimpanzees and in hepatitis C virus-infected humans: frequent mixed infections and identification of new TTV genotypes in chimpanzees.

A recently discovered DNA virus, TT virus (TTV), is prevalent in humans. In the present study, the genetic heterogeneity of TTV was evaluated in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients and in chimpanzees. TTV DNA was detected by PCR in serum samples from all ten HCV-infected patients studied; at least five major TTV genotypes, all previously identified in humans, were recovered. Eight patient...