Transmission of Hepatitis C by Intrahepatic Inoculation with Transcribed RNA
Alexander A. Kolykhalov,
Eugene V. Agapov,
Keril J. Blight,
Kathleen Mihalik,
Stephen M. Feinstone,
Charles M. Rice
*
More than 1% of the world's population is chronically infected
with hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV infection can result in acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, and cirrhosis, which is strongly associated with development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Genetic studies of HCV replication have been hampered by lack of a bona fide
infectious molecular clone. Full-length functional clones of HCV
complementary DNA were constructed. RNA transcripts from the clones
were found to be infectious and to cause disease in chimpanzees after
direct intrahepatic inoculation. This work defines the structure of a
functional HCV genome RNA and proves that HCV alone is sufficient to
cause disease.
A. A. Kolykhalov, E. V. Agapov, K. J. Blight,
C. M. Rice, Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington
University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO
63110-1093, USA
K. Mihalik and S. M. Feinstone, Division of Virology, Center for
Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration,
Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed.
