title: HCV infection, IFN response and the coding and non-coding host cell genome.
abstract: HCV is an ideal model to study how the infected cell is altered to allow the establishment of a chronic infection. After infection, the transcriptome of the cell changes in response to the virus or to the antiviral pathways induced by infection. The cell has evolved to sense HCV soon after infection and to activate antiviral pathways. In turn, HCV has evolved to block the antiviral pathways induced by the cell and, at the same time, to use some for its own benefit. In this review, we summarize the proviral and antiviral factors induced in HCV infected cells. These factors can be proteins and microRNAs, but also long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are induced by infection. Interestingly, several of the lncRNAs upregulated after HCV infection have oncogenic functions, suggesting that upregulation of lncRNAs could explain, at least in part, the increased rate of liver tumors observed in HCV-infected patients. Other lncRNAs induced by HCV infection may regulate the expression of coding genes required for replication or control genes involved in the cellular antiviral response. Given the evolutionary pressure imposed by viral infections and that lncRNAs are specially targeted by evolution, we believe that the study of proviral and antiviral lncRNAs may lead to unexpected discoveries that may have a strong impact on basic science and translational research.
authors.affiliation: Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) and Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), Department of Gene Therapy and Hepatology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carnero
authors.affiliation: Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) and Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), Department of Gene Therapy and Hepatology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. Electronic address: pfortes@unav.es.
authors.forename: Puri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fortes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D022661:RNA, Untranslated; D007372:Interferons
keywords: Antiviral; HCC; HCV; Host cell response; IFN; Proviral; lncRNAs