title: Association of hepatitis C virus particles with immunoglobulin: a mechanism for persistent infection.
abstract: The physical properties of hepatitis C virus (HCV) particles were determined by ultracentrifugation on 20-60% isopycnic sucrose density gradients. We report that (i) two populations of HCV particles were found in the sera of patients with chronic HCV infection [at high density (1.186-1.213 g/ml) and at low density (1.099-1.127 g/ml)], (ii) virus particles with high density values were associated with immunoglobulin, and (iii) virus particles with low density values accumulated base changes within a hypervariable region (HVR) of the E2 envelope domain of the RNA genome. The results indicate that base changes within the HVR of E2 lead to the accumulation of immunoglobulin-free virus particles. Therefore, these findings imply that persistent HCV infection is established as a consequence of sequence variation in the E2 envelope domain.
authors.affiliation: Biotech Research Institute, LG Chemical Ltd, Yuseung-gu, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Ryu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004279:DNA, Viral; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D014461:Ultracentrifugation; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D017735:Virus Latency
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C091015:glycoprotein E2, Hepatitis C virus