Replication fitness and NS5B drug sensitivity of diverse hepatitis C virus isolates characterized by using a transient replication assay.

ABSTRACT: The innate genetic variability characteristic of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection makes drug resistance a concern in the clinical development of HCV inhibitors. To address this, a transient replication assay was developed to evaluate the replication fitness and the drug sensitivity of NS5B sequences isolated from the sera of patients with chronic HCV infection. This novel assay directly compares replication between NS5B isolates, thus bypassing the potential sequence and metabolic differences which may arise with independent replicon cell lines. Patient-derived NS5B sequences were similar to those of the established HCV genotypes, but isolates from each patient shared genetic variability specific to that patient, with additional genetic variability observed across the individual i

SUBMITTER: Ludmerer SW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1087645 | biostudies-literature | 2005 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature