Hofmann H
Klinisches Institut für Virologie, Universität Wien, Kinderspitalgasse 15, A-1095 Wien.
Wien Med Wochenschr. 2000;150(23-24):463-6.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) along with hepatitis G virus are members of the hepacivirus genus of the flavi-viridae family to which the flavi- and pestis viruses also belong. The HCV genome has only one ORF which is flanked by a 5' and 3' noncoding region. The ORF encodes for a single polyprotein, which is stepwise cleaved into the 3 structural proteins, core (C), envelope 1 and 2 (E1,2) as well as into 7 non-structural proteins (p7, NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A, NS5B). The proteolytic active NS3 plays a central role in this processing. Whereas expectations for development of an HCV vaccine are not very optimistic today, there is great hope in new therapeutic possibilities by inhibition of NS3 function. HCV is highly variable. In the liver and serum of a single patient, genetically slightly different virus particles (quasispecies) can be found. Worldwide, hepatitis C virus has been classified into genotypes and subtypes. This differentiation is not only important epidemiologically, but also has biological and therapeutical implications.
丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）与庚型肝炎病毒一样，属于黄病毒科肝炎病毒属，黄病毒和瘟病毒也属于该病毒科。HCV基因组只有一个开放阅读框（ORF），两侧是5'和3'非编码区。该ORF编码一个单一的多聚蛋白，该多聚蛋白逐步裂解为3种结构蛋白，即核心蛋白（C）、包膜蛋白1和2（E1、E2），以及7种非结构蛋白（p7、NS2、NS3、NS4A、NS4B、NS5A、NS5B）。具有蛋白水解活性的NS3在这一加工过程中起核心作用。尽管如今对开发HCV疫苗的期望不太乐观，但通过抑制NS3功能实现新的治疗可能性仍抱有很大希望。HCV具有高度变异性。在单个患者的肝脏和血清中，可以发现基因上略有不同的病毒颗粒（准种）。在全球范围内，丙型肝炎病毒已被分为不同的基因型和亚型。这种区分不仅在流行病学上很重要，而且在生物学和治疗学上也有影响。
