The role of Hepatitis C virus glycoprotein-receptor polymorphism in viral pathogenesis

丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)是一种全球重要的病毒，感染全球1.7亿人，导致进行性慢性肝病。目前，可用于治疗丙型肝炎的疗法有限，迫切需要开发能够治愈感染的新药物。病毒通过附着在细胞表面的分子或受体启动感染，为治疗干预提供了目标。最近的进展已经确定了定义丙型肝炎病毒进入肝细胞的细胞分子。我们实验室的研究表明，丙型肝炎病毒株与宿主细胞受体的相互作用不同，这将对病毒的传染性和在肝脏中的传播产生重大影响。我们假设，丙型肝炎病毒-受体相互作用的这种差异将影响？相对适合度？传播和感染新的个体的病毒。我们将使用分子和生物学方法来研究传播丙型肝炎病毒株，以增加我们对定义和限制病毒传播的分子事件的理解。

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a globally important virus that infects 170 million individuals world wide, resulting in progressive chronic liver disease. At present, there are limited therapies available for treating hepatitis C and there is an urgent need for the development of new agents that will cure infection. Viruses initiate infection by attaching to molecules or receptors on the cell surface, providing a target for therapeutic intervention. Recent advances have identified the cellular molecules defining HCV entry into liver cells. Studies from our laboratory have shown that HCV strains differ in their interaction with host cell receptors and this will have significant consequences for virus infectivity and spread in the liver. We hypothesise that such differences in HCV-receptor interactions will influence the ?relative fitness? of a virus to transmit and infect new individuals. We will use molecular and biological methods to study transmitting HCV strains to increase our understanding of the molecular events that define and limit virus transmission.