title: Molecular biology and clinical implication of hepatitis C virus.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was first described in 1989 as the putative viral agent of non-A non-B hepatitis. It is a member of the Flaviviridae family and has been recognized as the major causative agent of chronic liver disease, including chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV is a positive RNA virus with a genome containing approximately 9500 nucleotides. It has an open reading frame that encodes a large polyprotein of about 3000 amino acids and is characterized by extensive genetic diversity. HCV has been classified into at least 6 major genotypes with many subtypes and circulates within an infected individual as a number of closely related but distinct variants known as quasispecies. This article reviews aspects of the molecular biology of HCV and their clinical implication.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Gastro-Hepatologia e Laboratório de Biologia Molecular, Hospital São Rafael e Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil. aclyra@atarde.com.br
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Lyra
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Di Bisceglie
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008967:Molecular Biology; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins