Two chimpanzees (Ch1535 and Ch1536) became infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) following intrahepatic inoculation with RNA transcribed from a full-length cDNA clone of the virus. Both animals were persistently infected and have been followed for 60 weeks. They showed similar responses to infection, with transient liver enzyme elevations and liver inflammatory responses, which peaked at weeks ...

To study hepatitis C virus (HCV) genetic mutation during interferon (IFN) therapy, the temporal changes in HCV quasispecies heterogeneity were compared before and after treatment for nine patients infected with HCV genotype 1, including four nonresponders, four responders who relapsed after therapy, and one responder who experienced a breakthrough of viremia during therapy. Nine untreated patie...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission between spouses remains poorly characterized, largely due to the limited availability of samples from the early stage of infection, as well as methodological constraints. A fifty-eight year-old male developed acute hepatitis C infection and his 53-year old spouse has been HCV-positive for over 10 years. Serum samples were collected from both at the time of a...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication in infected patients produces large and diverse viral populations, which give rise to drug-resistant and immune escape variants. Here, we analyzed HCV populations during transmission and diversification in longitudinal and cross-sectional samples using 454/Roche pyrosequencing, in total analyzing 174,185 sequence reads. To sample diversity, four locations in ...

Two chimpanzees, 1535 and 1536, became persistently infected following inoculation with RNA transcripts from cDNA clones of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Analysis of the HCV genomes from both animals showed an accumulation of amino acid substitutions over time. The appearance of substitutions in the envelope genes was associated with increased antienvelope antibody titers. However, extensive mutatio...

This study analyses the impact of interleukin 2 (IL2) combined with alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) and ribavirin on the heterogeneity of hepatitis C virus (HCV). We studied 10 patients who took part in a clinical trial that assessed the effects of retreatment with IL2, IFN-alpha and ribavirin in patients who failed to clear the virus after a previous bitherapy. The heterogeneity of HCV quasispeci...