Transcriptome of hepatitis C virus (JFH-1 strain)-infected Huh7 cells
The cytoplasmic hepatitis C viral RNA genome has been shown to be processed into hundreds of circular RNAs. Some of these circular RNAs contain the viral internal ribosome entry site and are translated to yield novel viral peptides which display proviral functions. Other nontranslated viral circular RNAs also enhance viral RNA abundances, suggesting that they can be targeted in antiviral approaches.