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Hepatitis C Virus

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Encyclopedia of Cancer

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Synonyms

HCV

Definition

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) belongs to the Flaviviridae family (Hepacivirus genus) and is a pathogenic human RNA virus, which causes chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Molecular Biology) (HCC).

Characteristics

The size of this enveloped virus is ∼60 nm. Its nucleocapsid contains a single-stranded RNA genome of ∼9.6 kb genome (Fig. 1) of plus(+) strand polarity that carries a single open reading frame. At least six major genotypes (1–6) with up to three subtypes (a to c) exist, which differ not only in their nucleic acid sequence but also in their pathophysiological properties. All structural and nonstructural viral proteins are processed from a polyprotein precursor of 3010–3033 amino acids in the cytoplasm or endoplasmic reticulum of the infected cell.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Genomic organization and designation of HCV RNA and amino acid positions and function of HCV proteins

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References

  • Moriya K, Fujie H, Fukuda K et al (1998) The core protein of hepatitis C virus induces hepatocellular carcinoma in transgenic mice. Nat Med 4:1065–1067

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  • Wedemeyer H, Caselmann WH, Manns MP (1998) Combination therapy of chronic hepatitis C – an important step but not the final goal. J Hepatol 29:1010–1014

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See Also

  • (2012) Hepatitis. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 1663. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_2658

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  • (2012) Liver cirrhosis. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 2067. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_3396

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  • (2012) Pegylated interferons. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 2805. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_4434

    Google Scholar 

  • (2012) Quasispecies. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 3132. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_4885

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  • (2012) Transactivation. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 3747. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_5893

    Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, Germany

    Wolfgang H. Caselmann

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  1. Wolfgang H. Caselmann
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Correspondence to Wolfgang H. Caselmann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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Caselmann, W.H. (2015). Hepatitis C Virus. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_2661-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_2661-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

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