Iacovacci S, Sargiacomo M, Parolini I, Ponzetto A, Peschle C, Carloni G
Institute of Experimental Medicine, CNR, Roma, Italy.
Res Virol. 1993 Jul-Aug;144(4):275-9. doi: 10.1016/s0923-2516(06)80040-3.
The ability to obtain primary long-term cultures of human foetal hepatocytes maintaining liver differentiation characteristics in serum-free medium prompted us to test their susceptibility to hepatitis C virus infection. Using PCR, we detected the presence of the HCV RNA-positive strand in the supernatants and in the cells of the virus-infected hepatocyte cultures, at various times post-infection. Evidence of effective virus genome replication and multiplication was also based on the time-dependent appearance of the putative HCV RNA-negative strand, the detection of virus replicative intermediates and an increase in HCV genomic templates in the HCV-infected cells.
