Characterization of HCV structural proteins expressed in various animal cells.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a main causative agent for transfusion-associated and sporadic cases of non-A, non-B hepatitis throughout the world. HCV has a positive-strand RNA of about 9,400 nucleotides as its genome, whose organization is similar to those of animal pestiviruses or human flaviviruses. In spite of the lack of an effective replication system in tissue culture cells, genes coding for viral proteins of HCV have been identified. The putative nucleocapsid (p22) and envelope (gp35 and gp60) proteins have been expressed in cells by different vectors under various foreign promoters. Furthermore, a truncated core protein and association of envelope proteins with nonstructural proteins have also been observed. These synthesized viral proteins have been shown to be useful for diagnostic assays.