Replicons of a Rodent Hepatitis C Model Virus Permit Selection of Highly Permissive Cells.

ABSTRACT: Animal hepaciviruses represent promising surrogate models for hepatitis C virus (HCV), for which there are no efficient immunocompetent animal models. Experimental infection of laboratory rats with rodent hepacivirus isolated from feral Rattus norvegicus (RHV-rn1) mirrors key aspects of HCV infection in humans, including chronicity, hepatitis, and steatosis. Moreover, RHV has been adapted to infect immunocompetent laboratory mice. RHV in vitro systems have not been developed but would enable detailed studies of the virus life cycle crucial for designing animal experiments to model HCV infection. Here, we established efficient RHV-rn1 selectable subgenomic replicons with and without reporter genes. Rat and mouse liver-derived cells did not readily support the complete RHV life cycle, but re

SUBMITTER: Wolfisberg R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6744251 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature