Querenghi F, Zoulim F
INSERM unité 271 151, Lyon.
Rev Prat. 2000 May 15;50(10):1060-5.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small enveloped virus whose genome is a RNA molecule encoding a polyprotein that is processed by cellular and viral proteases to produce the 3 structural proteins (the core protein C and the 2 envelope proteins E1 and E2) and the 6 nonstructural proteins (NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A and NS5B). The HCV genome exhibits a significant genetic heterogeneity. HCV isolates can be divided into genetically distinct groups referred to as genotypes, whereas the population of HCV genomes, within an infected individual, is present as a group of heterogeneous but closely related sequences referred to as quasi-species. Studies of the molecular biology of HCV and of new vaccinal or therapeutic strategies are hampered by the lack of easy to use cellular culture systems and of animal models.
丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）是一种小型包膜病毒，其基因组是一个RNA分子，编码一种多聚蛋白，该多聚蛋白经细胞和病毒蛋白酶加工后产生3种结构蛋白（核心蛋白C以及2种包膜蛋白E1和E2）和6种非结构蛋白（NS2、NS3、NS4A、NS4B、NS5A和NS5B）。HCV基因组表现出显著的遗传异质性。HCV分离株可分为基因上不同的组，称为基因型，而在受感染个体内，HCV基因组群体以一组异质但密切相关的序列形式存在，称为准种。由于缺乏易于使用的细胞培养系统和动物模型，HCV分子生物学以及新疫苗或治疗策略的研究受到阻碍。
