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. 2019 Apr;27(4):379-380.
doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2019.01.001. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Hepatitis C Virus

Thomas Pietschmann  1 , Richard J P Brown  2
Affiliations

Hepatitis C Virus

Thomas Pietschmann et al. Trends Microbiol. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an enveloped, RNA virus transmitted through blood-to-blood contact. It infects humans only and primarily targets liver cells. HCV evades innate and adaptive immunity and establishes chronic infections in 70% of cases. If untreated, 20% of patients develop liver cirrhosis, and a fraction of these progress to hepatocellular carcinoma. Annually, 400000 patients die globally due to HCV infection. Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are licensed and target three viral proteins: the NS3-4A protease needed for processing the viral polyprotein, the NS5A phosphoprotein that regulates RNA replication and virus assembly, and the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5B) that catalyzes genome replication. Combination therapies cure more than 95% of treated patients. Approximately 71 million people are chronically infected and 1.7 million new infections occur annually. Treatment-induced cure does not protect from viral reinfection. A prophylactic vaccine is under development.

Keywords: HCV; antiviral therapy; infection; liver disease.

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