title: Tightly regulated expression of the entire hepatitis C virus structural region in continuous human cell lines.
abstract: Investigation of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle is limited by the lack of an efficient cell culture system. Employing a tetracycline-regulated gene expression system we generated a panel of continuous human cell lines allowing the inducible expression and faithful processing of HCV structural proteins as well as of a functional NS2-3 autoprotease. HCV proteins were found in the cytoplasm in a pattern characteristic for the endoplasmic reticulum. High-level expression of HCV proteins was found to be cytotoxic. These cell lines represent a unique in vitro system in which to further investigate the structural proteins of HCV and to evaluate novel antiviral strategies against hepatitis C in a well-defined and reproducible cellular context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine II, University of Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moradpour
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wakita
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wands
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Blum
mesh_terms: D002451:Cell Compartmentation; D002455:Cell Division; D002470:Cell Survival; D002877:Chromosomes, Human; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D019076:Transgenes; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D014776:Virus Cultivation / Q000379:methods*; D016662:Virus Integration
chemical_list: D015678:Viral Structural Proteins