title: Expression of hepatitis C virus core protein associated with malignant lymphoma in transgenic mice.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major causative agent for chronic liver diseases leading to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and has also been suggested to be a possible etiologic factor for different lymphoproliferative diseases, including mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) and B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). To understand the roles of HCV core protein in the pathogenesis of HCV related diseases, we produced two lines of the transgenic mice (HC82310 and HC9053) that express the HCV core transgene. One of the lines, HC9053, developed malignant lymphoma (ML, follicular center cell type) with a high frequency (80%) at the ages over 20 months. Hepatocellular adenoma was also observed in this line of transgenic mouse. We demonstrated expression of HCV core protein and mRNA in the liver of transgenic mice, and also detected the core mRNA in the enlarged lymph nodes of the transgenic mice which developed ML. These results suggest that the core protein may play an important role in the development of ML, and that the HC9053 transgenic mice provide suitable models for understanding the mechanism of HCV-related lymphoproliferative diseases.
authors.affiliation: Nippon Institute for Biological Science, 3331-114 Kamisasao, Kobuchizawa, Yamanashi 408-0041, Japan. lars0120@chive.ocn.ne.jp
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Kazumoto
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasui
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitamura
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ueda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component / Q000235:genetics; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component; D014758:Viral Core Proteins; C069130:nucleocapsid protein, Hepatitis C virus