The Effect of Hepatitis C Virus Infection on Host Gene Expression

Hepatitis C Virus is a leading cause of chronic liver disease. The identification and characterisation of key host cellular factors that play a role in the HCV replication cycle is important for the understanding of disease pathogenesis and the identification of novel anti-viral therapeutic targets. Gene expression profiling of HCV infected Huh7 cells by microarray analysis was performed to identify host cellular genes that are transcriptionally regulated by infection. The expression of host genes involved in cellular defence mechanisms (apoptosis, proliferation and anti-oxidant responses), cellular metabolism (lipid and protein metabolism) and intracellular transport (vesicle trafficking and cytoskeleton regulation) was significantly altered by HCV infection. The gene expression patterns identified provide insight into the potential mechanisms that contribute to HCV associated pathogenesis. These include an increase in pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic signalling and a decrease in the anti-oxidant response pathways of the infected cell.

28

Blackham S, Baillie A, Al-Hababi F, Remlinger K, You S, Hamatake R, McGarvey MJ